Pollinator Week Ends – A Fan of Bees

FSA Joins Other USDA Agencies Celebrating on the DC Mall

Susan Cole (right), executive communication analyst and Hannah Mitchell (left), graphic designer with Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) assemble a homemade bee fan at the Farm Service Agency’s tent during the Pollinator Festival June 24 outside the Whitten Building. The USDA celebrated Pollinator Week which ended with the outdoor festival.

A recent FSA review of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), performed as part of the President’s National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honeybees and Other Pollinators, revealed that at least 15.7 million acres enrolled in CRP provide important bee and pollinator habitat throughout the United States.

Honeybees enable the production of at least 90 commercially grown crops according to statistics reported by the White House. Furthermore, pollinators contribute $24 billion to the U.S. economy.

Throughout the world, 87 of the leading 115 food crops depend on pollinators, contributing to 35 percent of global food production.

In its 30th year, CRP provides incentives to farmers and ranchers with the cost of establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”) to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitats on marginally productive agricultural lands. This helps to combat global climate change and provides resiliency to future weather changes.

Click here to learn more about CRP and pollinators.  And to learn more about the 80,000 bees who live on the roof of USDA’s Headquarters and pollinate the surrounding landscape, explore the USDA bee cam.