Let’s talk environmental equations! March 14th’s National Butterfly Day plus March 20th’s first day of Spring . . . equals the perfect calendar calculation for planning a new pollinator habitat!
Pollinator health is one of the leading sustainability issues in twenty-first-century agriculture. As public interest in pollinator health continues to increase, stakeholders in this discussion – our members and producers nationwide – have a critical role to play for implementation. Therefore, NCGA has partnered with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever – the nation’s leading charities for upland wildlife habitat conservation – to provide our members with direct complimentary conservation planning services for pollinator habitat outcomes in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
In addition, NCGA proudly supports pollinator health awareness through initiatives like the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund, the Honeybee Health Coalition and Farmers for Monarchs. These programs offer online tools, educational resources and best management practices to help support pollinator habitats. By incorporating pollinator forage and creating a pollinator-friendly landscape in tandem with their croplands, growers can protect soil health, improve water quality by controlling runoff and sediment and capture carbon in the environment.
The next step in a good stewardship plan is using pollinator-friendly pest management practices. Programs like BeSure! from Growing Matters provide free guides and other resources to optimize the use of pesticide products to protect both crops and nearby pollinators. The objective is to reinforce practical stewardship practices that protect pollinators and other wildlife when handling, planting and disposing of treated seeds, as well as from other neonic applications used throughout the growing season, including a broad range of crops, turf, ornamental plants and trees.
Want to knock it out of the park with your own field of [pollinator] dreams? To receive a free, on-farm acreage analysis, contact Brent Rudolph, Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever director of sustainability, at 517-980-4570 or email pollinator@pfqf.org; or contact Nicole Hasheider, NCGA director of crop inputs and investor relations at hasheider@ncga.com.
For additional pollinator resources and best management practices, visit ncga.com/pollinators.
