Dry, hot weather caused honey production to plummet in the nation's top two producing states last year, leading to one of the smallest U.S. honey crops in at least 35 years.

North Dakota and California typically vie for the honor of top honey state. In North Dakota, production in 2006 fell 23 percent from the previous year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The state held on to its top ranking for the third consecutive year, however, because production in California plummeted 34 percent.

"In the middle of summer, we had 10 or 12 days straight of temperatures between 100 and 110 degrees," said Orin Johnson of Hughson, Calif., who serves as president of the California State Beekeepers Association. "Bees don't work. They just shut down."

The 2006 California honey crop was just under 20 million pounds. North Dakota beekeepers produced about 26 million pounds.

Most production areas were below average, said Bonnie Woodworth, past-president of the North Dakota Beekeepers Association.

"The Bismarck area was very, very dry, and production … in that area was way down," said Woodworth, who keeps bees near Halliday in west-central North Dakota.

North Dakota colonies were down more than 5 percent last year, and average yield was down about 19 percent.

Nationwide, 2006 production totaled about 155 million pounds, down 11 percent from 2005, USDA said.

"It's one of the smallest honey crops in history," Johnson said. "It was just an off year."