Pollinators Get Help

Pollinators are all those little buzzy things in your garden that love to land on flowers. They are extremely important to the ag industry since they are responsible for the pollination of fruiting trees, vegetables and so much more. Recently with the declines in the populations of things like honeybees there has been a great deal of concern as to whether there will be enough to adequately pollinate crops. On Monday, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service announced they will provide close to $3 million in technical and financial assistance for interested farmers and ranchers to help improve the health of bees, which play an important role in crop production. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, quote: "Honey bee pollination supports an estimated $15 billion worth of agricultural production, including more than 130 fruits and vegetables that are the foundation of a nutritious diet. The future security of America's food supply depends on healthy honey bees." Funding will be provided through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to promote conservation practices that will provide honey bees with nutritious pollen and nectar while providing benefits to the environment.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.