MONROE - United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service will provide close to $3 million in five midwestern states to help improve the health of bees, which play an important role in crop production.
The effort will allow local farmers to help the honey bee. Local winter wheat farmers can frost seed red clover. Blooming clover will provide nectar for the honey bees and 80 pounds of nitrogen for the following corn crop.
"Honey bee pollination is estimated to support more than $15 billion worth of agricultural production, and more than 130 fruits and vegetables rely on bee pollination," said Jason Thomas, district conservationist.
Funding will be provided through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to promote conservation practices that will provide honey bees with nutritious pollen and nectar while providing benefits to the environment. Examples include cover crops and pasture management can reduce erosion, increase the health of the soil, inhibit invasive species, and provide quality forage and habitat for honey bees.
The funding is a focused investment to improve pollinator health and will be targeted in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Midwestern states were chosen because from June to September the region is the resting ground for more than 65 percent of the commercially managed honey bees in the country. It is a critical time when bees require abundant and diverse forage across broad landscapes to build up hive strength for the winter.
Applications are due Friday, March 21. Interested landowners can sign up by contacting Thomas at 608-325-4195 or jason.thomas@wi.usda.gov.
For more information on this program, visit the Green County USDA Service Center, 1627 4th Ave. West, or visit www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov.
The effort will allow local farmers to help the honey bee. Local winter wheat farmers can frost seed red clover. Blooming clover will provide nectar for the honey bees and 80 pounds of nitrogen for the following corn crop.
"Honey bee pollination is estimated to support more than $15 billion worth of agricultural production, and more than 130 fruits and vegetables rely on bee pollination," said Jason Thomas, district conservationist.
Funding will be provided through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to promote conservation practices that will provide honey bees with nutritious pollen and nectar while providing benefits to the environment. Examples include cover crops and pasture management can reduce erosion, increase the health of the soil, inhibit invasive species, and provide quality forage and habitat for honey bees.
The funding is a focused investment to improve pollinator health and will be targeted in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Midwestern states were chosen because from June to September the region is the resting ground for more than 65 percent of the commercially managed honey bees in the country. It is a critical time when bees require abundant and diverse forage across broad landscapes to build up hive strength for the winter.
Applications are due Friday, March 21. Interested landowners can sign up by contacting Thomas at 608-325-4195 or jason.thomas@wi.usda.gov.
For more information on this program, visit the Green County USDA Service Center, 1627 4th Ave. West, or visit www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov.