The next time you snack on almonds, add blueberries to your smoothie, or eat pumpkin pie, thank a pollinator, and thank farmers, ranchers, and private forestland owners who work hard to create and maintain their habitat.
Pollinators, such as honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies, birds, bats, flies, and many others, play a critical role in crop production. Without pollinators, we wouldn’t have many crops.
During the week of June 17-23, the nation will celebrate these iconic and crucial pollinators during National Pollinator Week. The U.S. Senate designated the third week in June as National Pollinator Week to increase awareness about the importance of pollinators and the challenges many of them face, including serious population declines and habitat losses, often due to land use changes and excessive or improper pesticide use. Nearly 200 species of pollinators are considered threatened or extinct.
Pollination occurs when pollen grains are moved between two flowers of the same species, or within a single flower by wind or insects and animals. Successful pollination results in healthy fruit and fertile seeds, allowing the plants to reproduce.
The extensive and critical world of crop pollinators is a $20 billion a year industry. About 75% of crop plants are pollinated by billions of animals and insects every year
Many federal, state, and local government agencies, non-government organizations, and universities have launched extensive efforts to protect pollinators, especially honeybees and the monarch butterfly. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) works closely with farmers, forest landowners, and other private landowners to increase pollinator habitat in targeted areas nationwide.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program, through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, offers financial incentives to agricultural producers and private forest landowners who enhance pollinator habitat by voluntarily implementing conservation practices such as cover crops, wildflower and native plantings in buffers, and areas not in production.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) can also be used to enhance habitat to protect pollinators. Administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, the CRP is a land conservation program in which enrolled landowners remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality.
When we protect pollinators, we protect our ability to grow food. We thank our farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners who offer a safe haven for pollinators and grow the products we enjoy.
Whether you are a large commodity producer, a small and diverse organic producer, or even a suburban homeowner, you can have an important role in saving pollinators in Mississippi.
James L. Cummins is executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.
