Despite unusual weather and pollination challenges, a USDA grower survey estimates a 2019 crop of 2.5 Billion pounds of almonds — a new record, and a 9.6 percent increase over 2018 production. From the report: The initial subjective forecast for the 2019 California almond production is 2.50 billion pounds. Forecasted production is 9.6 percent above last year's production of 2.28 billion pounds. …
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Honeybees play essential roles in pollinating plants that humans and animals rely on for food. Declines in bee populations - including 20 percent of honeybee colonies per year in Indiana - threaten our food supply. Insecticide exposure, loss of flowering plants, and fewer nesting habitats, disease and parasites are all factors. Beekeepers must, therefore, identify safe places …
ST. LOUIS – Feed a Bee, the national pollinator forage initiative by Bayer, has reached its goal of awarding grants supporting diverse forage for honey bees and other pollinators in all 50 states. The 50th recipient awarded recently was Gateway to the Arctic Camp in Talkeetna, Alaska. Dedicated to service and agriculture, the nonprofit camp teaches the significance of serving those …
National Corn Growers Association, U.S. Canola Association partner with Coalition to develop best practices growers can use to reduce risk to honey bees, other pollinators Two Honey Bee Health Coalition member organizations — the National Corn Growers Association and the U.S. Canola Association — recently unveiled best management practices for growers to help protect bees in and around corn and canola …
For Pollinator Week it has come to our attention that PETA has launched a campaign to Save Our Bees, recommending ways that individuals can help protect pollinators. While we fully support their effort to encourage planting more bee forage, we were disappointed to learn that they advocate purchasing a honey substitute and avoiding any beeswax products. In their plea against …
Strips of wildflowers dotting fields is visually attractive and provides much needed forage to bees. But does it actually increase pollination of nearby agricultural crops? Turns out that it depends on the scale and diversity of the farm. Researchers at the Centre for Environmental and Climate Research at Lund University have studied how pollination varies in different agricultural landscapes, by …
Study reviews the global importance of vertebrate pollinators for plant reproduction Bees are not the only animals that carry pollen from flower to flower. Species with backbones, among them bats, birds, mice, and even lizards, also serve as pollinators. Although less familiar as flower visitors than insect pollinators, vertebrate pollinators are more likely to have co-evolved tight relationships of high value …
Grant allows researchers to develop app and Amazon-like seed distribution Funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, Barbara Sharanowski will coordinate a nationwide team of citizen scientists who will convert lawns into native wildflower havens especially designed to attract native bees and other insects that pollinate plants. Bees and other pollinators are essential to food production. Some scientists estimate that …