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Feed a Bee Commits to Grow 50 Million Flowers and Acreage for Bee Forage in 2015; Initiative Will Provide Pollinators with Needed Food as They Work Harder to Help Feed a Growing World Population Triangle Park, North Carolina
Bayer CropScience is launching Feed a Bee., a major initiative to increase forage for honey bees and other pollinators, including growing 50 million flowers and providing additional forage acreage in 2015. By collaborating with organizations and individuals throughout the United States, Feed a Bee will help to provide pollinators with the food they need not only to survive, but to thrive. This is particularly important as the world population is expected to grow to over 9 billion people requiring 70 percent more food by 2050. As the world's most heavily traveled livestock, bees are transported to pollinate crops where resources are challenged to sustain large bee populations. Bees are working harder and need more food and more food diversity. Lack of adequate food is a significant stressor on honey bee health.
"Reduced bee habitat has decreased food options for bees at a time when agriculture and apiculture must work together to feed more people than ever," said Jim Blome, president and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP North America. "The Feed a Bee initiative provides opportunities for everyone to be a part of creating more forage for these amazing creatures."
The Feed a Bee initiative will work with people across the country to grow 50 million flowers and to increase bee forage areas. People can join this initiative by visiting www.FeedABee.com and requesting a free packet of wildflower seeds to plant on their own or by asking the Feed a Bee initiative to plant on their behalf, or by committing to grow bee-attractant plants. Each campaign packet contains about 200 seeds. As a result, for either seed packet planting action, a supporter will help provide honey bees with 200 additional flowers for forage. Visitors to the site can also commit to growing their own bee-attractant plants. The site features a ticker so supporters can view campaign progress and a collection of shareable facts about bee health and gardening tips.
Feed a Bee will tap into the power of collaborations by working with at least 50 government and nonprofit organizations and businesses to plant thousands of acres of flower-producing crops grown between regular crop production periods for bees. Several of these relationships have already kicked off. The NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will work with Bayer CropScience to create bee-attractant habitats along highway rights-of-ways. Project Apis m., a non-profit dedicated to better bee health through its work with growers, will work with Bayer CropScience to establish up to 3,000 acres of bee forage in California and Washington.
Other key collaborations include:
* National Wildlife Turkey Federation, Supporting pollinator conservation efforts, including co-labeling of native seed mixes. * McCarty Family Farm, Working with this Kansas dairy operation, in conjunction with Project Apis and Pheasants Forever, to plant pollinator-attractant cover crops. * Conservation Technology Information Center – Establishing pollinator habitat in the Midwest/Great Plains. Seeds for Bees: Fresno Fence Row Project, Partnering with Project Apis to evaluate seed mixes to plant in almond orchards. * Golf courses, Partnering with select golf courses to create and promote pollinator habitats.
"By working with Feed a Bee, we are supplying pollinators with access to crucial pollen and nectar sources that they need to live and pollinate crops," said Christi Heintz, executive director of Project Apis m. and liaison to the Almond Board of California's Bee Task Force. "Bees are critical to our nutrition and diet, and this is a chance to strengthen both bee colonies and our agricultural prospects."
The Feed a Bee campaign is supported by the Bayer Bee Care Program's bee research. Feed a Bee collaborations will use this research to guide plantings of the best bee-attractant habitats. The research will also be used to provide individuals with tips on planting bee forage.
Continuing its more than 25 years of supporting bee health, Feed a Bee is one of several programs sponsored by Bayer's Bee Care Program.
Bayer has also:
* Opened a North American Bee Care Center last year in Research Triangle Park, N.C., as a focal point for education, research and collaboration to improve honey bee health; * Welcomed almost 2,300 visitors to the Center since it opened in April 2014; * Conducted two mobile bee care tours that reached 4,750 people and traveled more than 8,300 miles to promote bee health; and * Created an annual award to recognize beekeepers who have used beekeeping to improve their local communities.
For more information on Bayer's bee health initiatives, please visit www.beehealth.bayer.us.
Bayer CropScience is committed to bringing new technology and solutions for agriculture and non-agricultural uses. For questions concerning the availability and use of products, contact a local Bayer CropScience representative, or visit Bayer CropScience online at www.bayercropscience.us.
About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 9,494 million (2014) and is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 22,400 and is represented in more than 120 countries. Find more information at www.bayercropscience.us.