N.C. Pollinator Protection Strategy

Pollinators are in trouble. Habitat loss, disease and environmental changes have contributed to the decline of pollinators, according to USDA-NRCS. The best way to reverse this is a multi-step approach to support pollinators through expanding and protecting habitats on the farm and protecting pollinators. Listen as Commissioner Troxler talks with the Southern Farm Network about the importance of ag pollinators: Three Steps to Pollinator Success 1. Recognize native pollinators and pollinator habitats already on the farm. 2. Adapt existing farm and land management practices to avoid causing undue harm to the pollinators already present. 3. Provide habitat for native bees on and around the farm. Adapted from Farming for Bees, Xerces Society, March 2013

NCDA&CS Making a Difference

Click on the above photo to see photos from our facilities.

Several divisions within the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are making a difference in regards to protecting pollinator habitats through regulatory authority and developing new programs to support pollinators. NCDA&CS is working with university researchers and other state and local partners to make a difference.

• The Plant Industry Division oversees beneficial insects, including inspecting honey bees.
• Structural Pest Control and Pesticides Division educates consumers and farmers on proper pesticide usage. Click on the image at right to visit their bee pages.
• The Agronomic Division helps farmers improve management of land to maintain effective habitat areas.
• With funding from Syngenta, our 18 Research Stations are planting pollinator habitats using a variety of farm-friendly flowering crops. N.C. State University researchers are working on best practices for these habitats.
• The N.C. Forest Service has pollinator gardens and wildlife food plots at many state educational forests and are working to find ways to support even more pollinators.
• Division of Soil and Water Conservation helps farmers and landowners incorporate pollinator habitat areas into best managament plans through consultations and cost-share programs. PDF: Establishing Pollinator Habitat through CREP

In the News

• NC State study: Triangle bees can't stand the heat (News & Observer, 7-14-17)
• Report: Global Warming Threatens North Carolina's Bees (WUNC, 7-3-17)
• NCC certified as Bee Campus USA affiliate (Rocky Mount Telegram, 6-5-17)
• Bee Downtown: From Passion Project to “Bees”-ness (Excitevent, 5-30-17)
• Her job is helping small farmers. Her passion? Saving the bees (News & Observer, 5-27-17)
• 100K bees build 5-foot hive in Tennessee home (WRAL, 5-1-17)
• Triangle companies helping save honeybees (News & Observer, 4-28-17)
• Extension Clinic Helps Beekeepers Protect Their Colonies (NC State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 4-26-17)
• Beekeepers taste success, usually without a sting (Charlotte Observer, 4-17-17)
• Wake County high school students raise bees in their backyards (News & Observer, 3-31-17)
• EPA Finalizes Steps to Better Protect Bees from Pesticides (EPA, 1-12-17)
• ‘Like it’s been nuked’: Millions of bees dead after South Carolina sprays for Zika mosquitoes (Washington Post, 9-1-16)
• Supporting pollinators could have big payoff for Texas cotton farmers (Phys.org, 6-10-16)
• Honeybees pick up 'astonishing' number of pesticides via non-crop plants (Phys.org, 5-31-16)
• CATCH THE BUZZ – Nation’s Beekeepers Lost 44 Percent of Bees in 2015-16 (Bee Culture Magazine, 5-10-16)
• Study Shows Leaf Fertilizers to Be Toxic to Stingless Bees (Entomology Today, 4-11-16)
• When hives don't thrive, pollinators needed (Hendersonville Times News, 4-10-16)
• Mowing Less Along Highways May Preserve Pollinator Abundance and Diversity (Entomology Today, 3-8-16)
• Plotting to Attract Pollinators (N.C. Field and Family Magazine, 2-12-16)
• The Buzz on Pollinators (N.C. Agriculture Magazine, 2016)
• EPA says pesticide harms bees in some cases (News & Observer, 1-6-16)
• Flavor, NC episode about Pollinators (UNC-TV, 10-15-16)
• Establishing Wildflower Habitat To Support Highbush Blueberries (Growing Produce, October 2015)
• Bees Go to Town as Popularity of Urban Beekeeping Grows (Our State Magazine, June 2015)
• EPA plans temporary pesticide restrictions while bees feed (News & Observer, 5-28-15)
• Parasite Infects Young Honey Bees, May Contribute to 'Colony Collapse' (NBC News 5-27-15)
• Pollinator task force releases national strategy (Delta Farm Press, 5-21-15)
• A Sharp Spike in Honeybee Deaths Deepens a Worrisome Trend (The New York Times, 5-13-15)
• Is focus on banning pesticides hurting efforts to rescue bees? (Delta Farm Press, 4-18-15)
• Increasing forage vital for honey bee health (Southeast Farm Press, 4-13-15)
• Bayer launches ‘Feed a Bee’ campaign (Southeast Farm Press, 4-10-15)
• NC Senate has honey of idea to boost bees, agriculture, (WRAL, 4-10-15)
• Bayer pledges $100,000 to NCDOT for roadside pollinator plantings (Southast Farm Press, 4-1-15)
• Flower-enriched farms boost bee populations (Phys.org, 3-23-15)
• Honey bees & butterflies vital for produce production (WECT, 3-12-15)
• Approval of ‘birds and the bees act’ sought by three NC senators (News & Observer, 3-12-15)
• Crop planter dust reduction may reduce pollinator threats (Delta Farm Press, 1-28-15)
• Beekeeping school sweetens the pot for homegrown pollinators (Hendersonville Times News, 1-24-15)
• Planting the Wrong Kind of Milkweed May Harm Monarch Butterflies (Entomology Today, 1-16-15)
• EU Banned Pesticides to Help Bees. Now Other Bugs Are Invading (Bloomberg News, 1-8-15)
• Christmas tree farms a gift for beneficial bugs (Hendersonville Times News, 12-19-14)