Honey Bees Alone Contribute More Than $15 Billion in Crops Each Year - ND is the Number One Commercial Pollinator State in the Country
U.S. Senator Heitkamp today released the following statement about the White House’s announcement on its new strategy to protect and promote the health and viability of honey bees and pollinators in North Dakota and across the nation.
Heitkamp has long been fighting to protect the health of pollinators like honey bees, which contribute to North Dakota’s status as the top honey-producing state in the nation – producing more than 33 million pounds of honey in 2013. Also that year, Heitkamp authored and fought for the amendment that passed in the 2014 Farm Bill that directs programs like the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to support the habitats of honey bees and other managed pollinators.
“In North Dakota, we understand the importance of honey bees – for both producing honey and for pollinating the specialty crops across our state which helps keep our farms running and enables our crops to feed families around the country. But our bees are in trouble – with managed bees collapsing by the millions in the past few decades,” said Heitkamp. “To help reverse these trends, I fought for an amendment to protect our honey bees that passed in the 2014 Farm Bill, and it’s good news the Administration is reinforcing the need to support the health of our pollinators. The nation is counting on North Dakota – the number one commercial pollinator state in the country – to grow their crops, our food, and this nation’s way of life. Together, we can fight keep our crops, our pollinators, and our economy healthy for years to come.”
According to the White House, “Honey bee pollination alone adds more than $15 billion in to agricultural crops each year in the United States,” including more than 130 fruits and vegetable crops. As the nation’s top commercial pollinator state, the U.S. has a vested interest in the health of North Dakota’s honey bees – which in recent decades have experienced an significant decline – with managed bee colonies falling from six million in 1947 to just 2.5 million today nationwide.
Since Heitkamp authored the amendment to encourage the protection of pollinator habitats in the 2014 Farm Bill, which passed in June 2013, Heitkamp has been working to help farmers address the health of honey bees through USDA CRP funding she helped secure.
Source:senate.gov