{"id":20272,"date":"2026-07-06T15:04:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T13:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T16:09:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:09:53","slug":"fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/","title":{"rendered":"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/eurostat\/web\/products-eurostat-news\/w\/edn-20260520-1\">The latest Eurostat data<\/a> show that <strong>European agriculture is undergoing a profound structural transformation<\/strong>. Within a few days, the European statistical office reported that traditional livestock populations continue to decline and that, at the same time, <strong>the number of beehives recorded on farms has risen to 9.4 million<\/strong>. Italy is at the forefront of this transition, with a surge that has brought the number of beehives to nearly two million.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decline of dairy farms and the boom in beekeeping are the different responses of distinct sectors to the exact same pressures: rising operating costs, unstable markets, and a climate that is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with.<\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"h-perche-le-stalle-chiudono\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Are Stables Closing?<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Long-term figures (2015\u20132025) show that <strong>livestock farming is declining across Europe, from cattle and pigs to sheep and goats.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall meat consumption remains steady, though there has been a shift from red meat to poultry. The crisis facing livestock farms, however, is playing out in their financial statements. Soaring energy costs, rising feed prices, the investments needed to comply with European animal welfare regulations, and cuts in the use of medications have sharply reduced profit margins. Faced with fixed costs considered stifling and the chronic problem of generational turnover\u2014with young people struggling to take over such complex and heavily regulated operations\u2014many farmers are choosing to close their operations.   <\/p>\n\n<h3 id=\"h-le-arnie\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Beehives<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While livestock farming is declining, commercial beekeeping has grown by 16% over three years. However, more hives do not necessarily mean more honey on the market. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beekeeping sector is, in fact, one of the hardest hit by the effects of the climate crisis. Prolonged droughts and torrential, off-season rains disrupt flowering schedules, reducing yields and forcing producers to resort to constant artificial feeding to save their colonies. If honey doesn\u2019t generate income, why do farms invest in bees? The answer lies in diversification and the protection of their crops. Bees have effectively become a farm\u2019s biological infrastructure, integrated into the land both to ensure pollination\u2014and thus productivity and quality\u2014of fruit, sunflowers, and rapeseed, and to access funding from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Eurostat data illustrate the decline of traditional beekeeping and the all-time high of 9.4 million hives in the EU. Underlying this trend are the elimination of profit margins for beekeepers and producers\u2019 income diversification strategies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAowscnaCw:productID":"","_app_feed_target":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1609,1615,28],"tags":[1725,1649],"class_list":["post-20272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-nature","category-senza-categoria","tag-europe","tag-unione-europea"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing &#8226; Ultima Bozza<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New Eurostat data illustrate the decline of traditional beekeeping and the all-time high of 9.4 million hives in the EU. Underlying this trend are the elimination of profit margins for beekeepers and producers\u2019 income diversification strategies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing &#8226; Ultima Bozza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New Eurostat data illustrate the decline of traditional beekeeping and the all-time high of 9.4 million hives in the EU. Underlying this trend are the elimination of profit margins for beekeepers and producers\u2019 income diversification strategies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ultima Bozza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ultimabozza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-06T13:04:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-06T14:09:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Flavia Rossellini\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ultimabozza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ultimabozza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Flavia Rossellini\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Flavia Rossellini\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7c23a350be9ca09939fe84a59d91f95c\"},\"headline\":\"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T13:04:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-06T14:09:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/\"},\"wordCount\":359,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"europe\",\"Unione europea\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\",\"Nature\",\"Senza categoria\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/\",\"name\":\"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing &#8226; Ultima Bozza\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T13:04:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-06T14:09:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"New Eurostat data illustrate the decline of traditional beekeeping and the all-time high of 9.4 million hives in the EU. Underlying this trend are the elimination of profit margins for beekeepers and producers\u2019 income diversification strategies.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Ultima Bozza\",\"description\":\"Il mondo che cambia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"UltimaBozza\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UltimaBozza\",\"alternateName\":\"Ultima Bozza\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/logo-ultimabozza.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/logo-ultimabozza.svg\",\"width\":384,\"height\":81,\"caption\":\"UltimaBozza\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ultimabozza\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ultimabozza\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ultimabozza\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ultimabozza\/\"],\"description\":\"Testata Registrata in data 20\/4\/2023 presso il Tribunale di Milano Num. R.G. 4720\/2023. Num. Reg. Stampa 48.\",\"email\":\"segreteria@ultimabozza.it\",\"legalName\":\"Societ\u00e0 Editoriale Ambrosiana A R.L.\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7c23a350be9ca09939fe84a59d91f95c\",\"name\":\"Flavia Rossellini\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/author\/flavia-rossellini\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing &#8226; Ultima Bozza","description":"New Eurostat data illustrate the decline of traditional beekeeping and the all-time high of 9.4 million hives in the EU. Underlying this trend are the elimination of profit margins for beekeepers and producers\u2019 income diversification strategies.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing &#8226; Ultima Bozza","og_description":"New Eurostat data illustrate the decline of traditional beekeeping and the all-time high of 9.4 million hives in the EU. Underlying this trend are the elimination of profit margins for beekeepers and producers\u2019 income diversification strategies.","og_url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/","og_site_name":"Ultima Bozza","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ultimabozza\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-06T13:04:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-06T14:09:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Flavia Rossellini","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ultimabozza","twitter_site":"@ultimabozza","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Flavia Rossellini","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/"},"author":{"name":"Flavia Rossellini","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7c23a350be9ca09939fe84a59d91f95c"},"headline":"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing","datePublished":"2026-07-06T13:04:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-06T14:09:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/"},"wordCount":359,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg","keywords":["europe","Unione europea"],"articleSection":["Economy","Nature","Senza categoria"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/","url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/","name":"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing &#8226; Ultima Bozza","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-06T13:04:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-06T14:09:53+00:00","description":"New Eurostat data illustrate the decline of traditional beekeeping and the all-time high of 9.4 million hives in the EU. Underlying this trend are the elimination of profit margins for beekeepers and producers\u2019 income diversification strategies.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/fewer-barns-more-beehives-how-the-european-countryside-is-changing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fewer barns, more beehives: How the European countryside is changing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/","name":"Ultima Bozza","description":"Il mondo che cambia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"UltimaBozza","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#organization","name":"UltimaBozza","alternateName":"Ultima Bozza","url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/logo-ultimabozza.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/logo-ultimabozza.svg","width":384,"height":81,"caption":"UltimaBozza"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ultimabozza\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ultimabozza","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ultimabozza","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ultimabozza\/"],"description":"Testata Registrata in data 20\/4\/2023 presso il Tribunale di Milano Num. R.G. 4720\/2023. Num. Reg. Stampa 48.","email":"segreteria@ultimabozza.it","legalName":"Societ\u00e0 Editoriale Ambrosiana A R.L."},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7c23a350be9ca09939fe84a59d91f95c","name":"Flavia Rossellini","url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/author\/flavia-rossellini\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/\u0410rnia.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20272"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20275,"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20272\/revisions\/20275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}