Let’s Bee Friends! How Farmers Can Help Bees.

The food on our dinner table may be looking different in the future. Declines in the US bee population threaten the ways we eat and produce crops: $20 billion of annual crop production in the US can be attributed to honey bees. The winter of 2017-2018 saw a 40% decrease in honey bee colonies managed by US beekeepers. Furthermore, some native bee populations (like bumblebees) crucial to crop production and pollination are declining. Where will our crops be without all our bees?

This startling drop in bee populations can be traced back to decreased crop diversity, loss of habitat, pesticides, higher temperatures from climate change, and Varroa mites that can decimate colonies in the winter.

As the health of bee colonies continues to be jeopardized, this decline has serious implications for crop prices. With bees becoming more costly to keep and conditions to keeping bees becoming even more difficult, crop prices may start to increase.

However, this future for honey bees (and some native bees) doesn’t have to be dire—farmers can do their parts to ensure that they help keep bees and other pollinators in their fields safe and nourished!

Planting Hedgerows and Wildflower Strips for Biodiversity

Planting hedgerows and field borders provides a biodiverse habitat for bees to feed from. Hedgerows are rows of shrubs, trees, flowers, and grasses at the edges of fields that help with pollination through: 

• attracting pollinators with supplies of nectar and pollen 
• guiding these pollinators through the landscape. 

Hedgerows also protect crops against erosion from wind and water.

Farmers can also plant more wildflowers, another source of shelter and food. Strips of wildflowers are resources for native bees, not just honey bees. Although there are concerns about rodents, birds, and weeds from planting these flowers, these wildflower strips bring in insects such as parasitic wasps, ground beetles, and hoverflies that act as pest control for neighboring crops.

Planting wildflower strips in tandem with hedgerows and trees is a cost-effective and efficient method of helping the bees.

Cover Crops Help Bees and Pollinators

Source: Winter pea, crimson clover, and cereal rye cover crop mix

Cover crops are crops like buckwheat, rapeseed, lupines, phacelia, sunn hemp, cowpeas, partridge pea, sunflowers, and clover that farmers use to improve soil quality because they add nutrients back into the ground soil and protect the topsoil from being eroded by wind and water.

However, cover crops also support bees and other pollinators because of their roles as food sources. They are very similar to hedgerows because they attract pollinators but can also prevent weeds and manage insects. In addition, cover crops are worth the money—their costs are often paid off in a few years.

Leaving Nesting Habitats Undisturbed

Farmers can create undisturbed nesting habitats for native bees. For ground-nesting bees (also called miner bees) or solitary bees that form their nests in the ground, farmers can choose to not till areas of grass and soil. For wood- and tunnel-nesting bees (also known as carpenter bees) that nest in hard plant material, farmers can choose to not remove tree snags—dead or dying trees—or dead shrub stems. Artificial bee nesting blocks can also be constructed by drilling tunnels into wood—farmers may choose to do this to enhance their bee populations and encourage pollination.

Reducing Insecticide Exposure

Insecticides and pesticides are deadly for bees. Farmers should make sure to not spray pesticides on blooming crops, and they should select pesticides for specific insects. Planting hedgerows or treelines can also provide a buffer. If farmers must use pesticides, they should spray them during times when honey bees are less active, such as early morning and late evening.

The relationship between farmers and honeybees is a symbiotic one in which both benefit. Without bees, many farmers wouldn’t have their crops, and without the crops, bees might not be regarded as highly as they are today!. Starting today, farmers can take action to help their local honey bees.