• Home
  • Science 101
    • The Dose
  • Climate Change
  • Natural Resources
  • Wildlife
  • Science News
  • Contact Us
Science Matters CaliforniaScience Matters California
Science Matters CaliforniaScience Matters California
  • Home
  • Science 101
    • The Dose
  • Climate Change
  • Natural Resources
  • Wildlife
  • Science News
  • Contact Us
How Bees and Farmers Got Together

How Bees and Farmers Got Together

June 12, 2019 Science 101, Wildlife

By Adam Allington and Tiffany Stecker

Almonds are heavily dependent on bees for pollination. Almond farmers like Mike Doherty of Colusa County, just north of Sacramento, bring in hives from as far away as Texas, Florida, and North Dakota.

Doherty farms about 800 acres of almonds for Blue Diamond. He says the cost of renting commercial beehives to pollinate his almond trees has grown so much that it’s now one of his biggest expenses.

“Oh, of course I’m worried about that. But I’m also worried there won’t be enough water in the future. There won’t be enough employees in the future. I’m worried about that,” Doherty said. “A farmer worries every day. I get up in the morning worrying. I go to bed worrying. That’s what we do.”

And there’s a lot of fruits, veggies, and nuts to worry about. According to the UN, the volume of agricultural production dependent on pollinators has increased by 300% in the last 50 years.

Interstate highways built in the 1950s and ‘60s made it much easier to move bees around, meaning bees could take lots of business trips. And over time, wild and native bees that were once adequate enough for farming were pushed aside, says Mace Vaughn, who co-directs the Pollinator Program at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

This shrinking of uncultivated lands is even worse for wild bees. Instead of the cover crops farmers used to plant to replenish their soil in the off season, most today have switched to synthetic fertilizers. Row crops replace wild plants, which means no flowers and no food for bees.

Vaughn says just even planting a small strip of wildflowers around the edge of fields or orchards could draw in native bee populations and decrease the need for commercial pollinators. But even if farmers are successful at putting more bee habitat back into the landscape, he says commercial pollinators like honeybees are simply too vital to think about abandoning altogether.

Read More at Bloomberg

Share
0

You also might be interested in

The Population of Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Central Mexico is up 144%

The Population of Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Central Mexico is up 144%

Jan 30, 2019

Monarch butterfly populations in central Mexico are booming to a[...]

Saber-tooth surprise: Fossils redraw picture of the fearsome big cat

Saber-tooth surprise: Fossils redraw picture of the fearsome big cat

Aug 28, 2019

This article discusses the discovery of hundreds of Smilodon teeth[...]

Coyotes attack pets, raise concern in SW Colorado Springs

Coyotes attack pets, raise concern in SW Colorado Springs

Oct 9, 2019

An article exploring the recent increase in coyote attacks on[...]

© 2022 · Science Matters California.

Prev Next