What CA Growers Can Do to Help Pollinators
For the past few years, we have been talking about the use of insecticides in agriculture and the effect it is having on the pollinators that are depended on in the ecosystem.Iowa Honey Producers Association President Jason Foley joins us to talk about what we can do to help pollinator growth.
“…Bees have nerve bundles down their body that do specific jobs. And one of the nerve bundles jobs is being able to orient and track their way back to the colony. So, what science in other countries have pointed out, or university studies that have not had funding in part by chemical companies. And I'm not dissing anybody. But they pointed out that basically the Neonics get to a point that it damages the bee’s ability to track back to their colony and it cleans out the colony…”
Foley says large chemical companies have taken steps to make changes, but there is still a long way to go.
“…coming from an experienced beekeeper, myself, and every other commercial guy out there, your bees don't do good if you stick them in the middle of corn and soybean year after year after year. You can take brand new colonies, and you can stick them in the most wretched area possible, and they'll do great because it's all brand-new comb that they're building that first year. It's all fresh bees that's all disease free, it's everything. But once they get on to year number two and number three with that old comb, you really got to have them in nicer environments for that for them to do well.”