The Role of Pollinators in Agriculture

This year's Pollinator Partnership poster “Pollinators and Agriculture: A Partnership on the Land" by artist Hugo Salais is an artistic depiction of the harmony that can be achieved when agricultural landscapes embrace pollinator-friendly management practices. The poster includes a well-deserved tribute to farmers. Farmers collaborate with the Pollinator Partnership through the “Bee Friendly Farming” program. Check out the poster here: https://ccsin.info/3yifiWg.

Pollinators are vitally important to agriculture, as well as our food system and ecosystems. They help thousands of flowering plants reproduce, from flowers to fruits and even some crops. Pollinator habitat can also provide benefits on the farm, such as preventing soil erosion and improving biodiversity. As the human population increases rapidly, our demand for food grows with it. To cope with this, in the future, our agricultural systems will need to produce more food in a sustainable way. Pollinators are, and will continue to be, crucial to these systems. Both wild and managed pollinators offer essential pollination services – either provided by nature or arranged for by people.

Bee Friendly Farming (BFF) is a certification program from Pollinator Partnership working with farmers to help protect, preserve and promote pollinator health. BFF provides guidelines for farmers and growers to promote pollinator health on their lands. The program is overseen by a task force of experts from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) including scientists and farmers, as it strives to set standards for sustainable farming on important concepts like planting pollinator food resources, providing nesting habitat, and incorporating an integrated pest management strategy. BFF helps ensure the future of both pollinators and sustainable agriculture as it expands across North America and around the globe.

The poster’s Prezi, available here: https://ccsin.info/3tWahPA, provides detailed information about components of the poster including:

• Continuous Bloom

• Native Plants

• Integrated Pest Management System

• Native & Managed Pollinators

• Establishing Permanent Habitats

• Clean Water

• Ground Nesting Habitat

• Various Species of Pollinators & More!

Whether directly or indirectly, pollinators play a huge role in a majority of what we eat and consume. Providing suitable habitat for pollinators to live, thrive and perform their important job benefits the entire ecosystem, while enhancing soil health. That’s what I call a win!

Sheila Schroeder

CCSI Northern Program Manager