Syngenta and Cavendish Farms create pollinator habitats

Jun 21, 2024

Syngenta Canada has partnered with Cavendish Farms to establish two large pollinator habitats on Prince Edward Island (PEI) to promote bee health and demonstrate how habitat creation enhances biodiversity on farms and contributes to sustainable agriculture. This initiative is an expansion of “The Bee Project” by Cavendish Farms and is supported by Syngenta’s Operation Pollinator, a long-standing global biodiversity initiative that focuses on research and partnerships to promote the health and well-being of bees and other pollinators.

“We’re proud to collaborate with Cavendish Farms to foster healthy pollinator populations and help raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity,” says Mike Buttenham, sustainability manager with Syngenta Canada.

In July 2023, two 10-acre Operation Pollinator plots were planted at the Cavendish Farms Research Centre in New Annan and its Freetown site with pollinator-friendly seed, including multiple types of clover, birdsfoot trefoil, groundbreaker radish, phacelia, and timothy. The diverse mix ensures a season-long food source for pollinators as the plants flower from spring through fall. Farms provide great potential to create essential habitat and food sources for a range of bees and other pollinating insects.

“At Cavendish Farms, we are proud of our efforts to protect the environment and deliver value from the farm to the table,” says Robert K. Irving, president of Cavendish Farms. “Creating pollinator plots can help improve crop yields and is a great example of how we are working with our growing partners on PEI to try new and innovative ways to care for the soil and support sustainable agriculture.”

Building on the success of the 2023 initiative, Cavendish Farms plans to plant additional acres of habitat on the Island this year.

This is the second Operation Pollinator initiative that Syngenta has supported in PEI. In 2021 and 2022, Syngenta partnered with the PEI Potato Board to engage farmers to increase biodiversity by planting pollinator-friendly seed mixes on lower productivity land. Participants received a provision of high-quality, commercial seed, agronomic advice, and financial assistance to help offset site establishment costs. In total, 52 acres were planted thanks to the efforts of participating farms on the Island.

“Partnering with companies like Cavendish Farms and organizations like the PEI Potato Board is critical to the success of Operation Pollinator and its mandate to support activities that enhance biodiversity, habitat and other practical initiatives that can contribute to healthy pollinator populations,” says Erin McGregor, stewardship and policy manager with Syngenta Canada. “We appreciate the shared commitment of industry and farmers to enhance biodiversity and support sustainable agriculture.”

Source : Syngenta.ca

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.