One thing that has changed is counting numbers of colonies in the autumn AFTER the honey crop to be averaged. Historically your average was always the total yield divided by the colonies you put into the previous winter. With colony numbers increasing year on year for several years that is a significant difference.
It's the links and mentions to adopt a beehive on the survey that makes me think the figures are somewhat manipulated to give a miss leading situation.
One thing that has changed is counting numbers of colonies in the autumn AFTER the honey crop to be averaged. Historically your average was always the total yield divided by the colonies you put into the previous winter. With colony numbers increasing year on year for several years that is a significant difference.
Yes, I'd expect that to be the calculation for nearly all the historical records. When I said the methodology was the same, as far as I'm aware this particular survey has always used the count at end of season. A relative increase or decrease year by year is something you could conclude but the numbetrs don't make a valid comparison with the historical record.
And yes, another factor is the increase in colonies. In practice I suspect there's a great influence from beekeeper turnover. Previous membership surveys show a good proportion of beekeepers start then give up after a couple of years. An enthusiastic beginner is increasing colonies, so has reduced honey yield yet is more likely to report to a survey. Those nearly given up or reducing colony count are probably less likely to report, even if their average looks good after combining.
