Our next workshop will be...
Pollinator Conservation Planning on Working Lands
February
3-4, 2010
Bismarck, ND
Click here to view the workshop agenda
Click here for a workshop mail-in registration form
Click here to view the workshop poster
Click here for a workshop brochure
"What
your Dad didn't tell you about the Birds and the Bees"
Pollinator
Conservation Planning on Working Lands
When
we consider where our food comes from, we always think about the basic building
blocks of fertile soil, clean water, and lots of sunlight. These are all
things we strive for on our family farms to improve the production of our crops,
gardens, and even pastures. We want rich, red tomatoes and healthy, soft
bread. We strive for nice marbling in our steaks and hard shells on our
eggs. We pray for rain when the crops are dry and sunlight when the rain
won't stop. We look to our soil when something just doesn't produce the
way we expected it to. We test it, fertilize it, plant cover crops, reduce
tillage, manage the land. But are we forgetting one vital
component--Pollination.
Bees
have played a vital role in our landscape and economy. They help our
gardens and crops grow. They add a much needed step in our berry
production and alfalfa crops. Most bee pollination we think about
includes a box and a beekeeper; however, colonized bees are starting to have
some serious disease issues. So we need to ask the question, "What
did all the pollination before commercial beekeeping?" This
is when our native pollinators come into place. The Native Bees like the
Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee and the Bumblebee come to mind. As I think
about the activity in my flower beds all summer, I also need to think about the
hummingbirds, moths, butterflies, and beetles. There are many natural
pollinators out there, but we understand so little about them. What kind
of habitat do they need to thrive? Are their numbers holding steady?
Can we increase their pollination if local bee colonies have suffering losses to
disease?
These
are all questions and topics we will be learning about at the upcoming technical
workshop on February 3-4, 2010 in Bismarck, ND. Speakers include Jennifer
Hopwood, The Xerces Society, Dwight Tober, NRCS Plant Materials Center, Dr.
Marian Harris, North Dakota State University, Dr. Ron Royer, Minot State
University, and Dave Dewald, NRCS State Biologist. If you are interested
in finding more information about this workshop or to find a registration form,
please check out our website at www.ndswcs.org.