The National Resources Conservation Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is offering financial assistance to help combat honey bee population decline in Montana.
This is a part of the Honey Bee Pollinator Initiative which has provided more than 35,000 acres of improved habitat for bees and other pollinators.
The goal is to get producers to plant perennials on sections of the land where the bees can pollinate and survive. The honey bee population has been declining in the past two decades, which is more serious than one might think.
“A lot of people don’t know it, but one out of every three bites of food that is grown in the United States depends on a honey bee or another pollinator to be able to pollinate those crops,” said Jerry Shows, NRCS assistant state conservationist for programs in Montana. “They pollinate approximately 15 billion dollars’ worth of crops each year. This includes more than 130 fruits and vegetables.”
Two-thirds of the honey bee population lives in the northern United States during summer months.
-Reported by Carson Vickroy/MTN News
