Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1286027
Almond Board of California 14 More Reasons to "Bee Friendly" – Interest in Pollinator Health Grows Among Stakeholders The reasons for adopting bee-friendly practices start in the orchard – but don't stop there. Increased attention to this topic is coming from key industry stakeholders, such as policymakers, consumers and food companies, who want to know what growers are doing to protect pollinators and beneficial insects. California is home to about 1,600 species of native bees along with butterflies, ladybugs and many other natural pollinators. More and more, state policymakers are looking into the role agriculture can play in helping these species by providing habitat and using integrated pest management and other strategies to support their health. "There is an opportunity for agriculture to be seen as part of the solution," Lewis said. ABC is working with Pollinator Partnership, agricultural groups, key state agencies and other cooperators to develop win-win strategies for demonstrating that agriculture can provide benefits to these native pollinator species. And the market is watching. "It really comes down to the buyers and customers, who have questions and surveys regarding bee health," said Catherine Campbell, head of Sustainability and Social Impact for Blue Diamond Growers. "Our consumers are very concerned about it, as well. It's really important for almond growers, co-ops and processors to understand that we have to answer to those consumers and customers." Fortunately, Campbell said, most growers are already doing a good job. "The other side of this is documentation of performing best practices," she said. "We need data to support our claims. We can't just provide a verbal 'yes' or 'no.'" Campbell urges growers to participate in CASP, which provides information about how growers can improve their practices, while gathering (in aggregate) grower-reported data used to share the industry's sustainable practices with customers and other stakeholders. bees,'" said Rishwain, a third-generation grower. "However, I started to look at other benefits that we could achieve: Soil compaction is still a major concern in our orchard, and I saw how different cover crops can really help alleviate that over time. That became the top benefit I was looking for." Rishwain has also seen less dust. "One of our orchards is in a sandy loam soil, and historically there was quite a bit of dust there," Rishwain said. "In just two years, I've seen quite a reduction due to the increased organic matter in the soil." The benefits didn't stop there – depending on the type of seed mix used, growers can also plant cover crops to add nitrogen to the soil: "I liked the idea of being able to add free nitrogen, and certain cover crops can add quite a bit," he commented. Rishwain noticed the additional forage for bees is supporting beneficial insects, as well. "It has provided an improved habitat for the beneficials," Rishwain said. "Walking through the orchard, I can spot them. That's yet another win for us." Additionally, adding the right type of forage mix to an orchard to provide flowering before almond bloom creates a "positive feedback loop" that can "kick-start your bees into spring," Synk said. "If the cover crop starts to bloom a couple of days, a couple of weeks, or even a month before the almond bloom, those bees are just going to be so much more vigorous and ready to go than they would be otherwise," he said. Rishwain noted the success of seeing increased bee health, and supporting his beekeeper, in his own orchard: "Our beekeeper is very happy with it – he said the hive strength is phenomenal and the pollen accumulation is very good." At the end of the day, planting cover crops is ultimately a win for the bees – via improved health and therefore increased SustainableAlmondGrowing.org Create a CASP account today: New to Cover Crops? Start small and plant forage in only half or one-third of your orchards to see how it works for you. Rishwain took this picture in mid-January of 2020, when his team conducted winter sanitation. While the crop continued to grow, it did not impede any sanitation practices. Photo courtesy of Chris Rishwain Continue on page 15