Styrian honey award: a festival for the best domestic varieties!

Styrian honey award: a festival for the best domestic varieties!

In 2024, the honey harvest in Austria and Germany was overwhelming in despite hard conditions. The Styrian beekeepers report on an average but satisfactory harvest, after submitting a total of 682 different honey for the 18th Styrian honey award. These products were awarded from over 2,100 entries, with strict exams taking place in the laboratory of the Styrian beekeeper school. Beekeeper Willibald Schenekar from Tillmitsch emphasizes that the quality of the honey was outstanding, even if the harvest of flower honey was zero in many districts. "The bees found so much nectar that they didn't have to be fed," he reports and is proud of the achievements of the Styrian beekeepers.

increased harvest and prices in Germany

In Germany, on the other hand, the year 2024 was shaped by sunny days, which, despite extreme drought, enabled a gratifying honey harvest. Beekeepers were able to harvest an average of 37.2 kilograms of honey per bee colony, which represents an increase of 8.9 kilograms compared to the previous year. This was the result of a survey by the bees and beekeeping center in Mayen, which was based on reports of over 15,700 beekeeping. Christoph Otten, the center manager, explained that the drought in summer did not significantly impair the bees' stocks, since they had collected enough nectar before the weather -related influences.

In addition, the specialist center reported about six percent of an increase in prices for German honey compared to the previous year, which is due to increased production costs. A 500 gram glass blossom honey now costs 6.11 euros in a nationwide average, while regional differences can be observed. The market shows that the majority of the over 150,000 beekeepers in Germany sell their honey mainly at home or sell them from their employer. Overall, the honey market in both countries is a performance of the hard work and the dedication of the beekeepers and emphasizes the constant demand for real, regional honey, as rnd.de Report.