pollinator News
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Biofeed is Chemical Free for Bees
Biofeed Has Always Been Chemical Free for Bees Hello to all our Biofeed friends who plant and care for fruit trees, crops, gardens, and flowers. It’s BEE time. With Spring approaching bees are already at work. Without these industrious little pollinators we would starve. We are sharing information from The Bee Conservancy to spread the word on how we can all do our part to support our bee ...
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EPA Awards Almost Half a Million in Funding to Three Universities for Projects to Reduce Pesticide Risk
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced agricultural grants for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to reduce the use of potentially harmful pesticides and lower risk to bees all while controlling pests and saving money. “These collaborative projects can provide innovative solutions to reduce pesticide risks to pollinators and crops,” said James Jones, ...
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Proposal for Restriction of Neonicotinoid Products in the EU
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By Acta Group
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GM seeds can remain in fields longer than previously thought
Despite management practices designed to reduce the risk of genetically modified (GM) volunteer plants setting seed, new research shows that rogue GM plants occur in fields which were planted with GM oil seed rape 10 years earlier. Volunteer plants (plants that have not been planted deliberately) arise because some seed is spilled during harvest and remains in the field to germinate in a ...
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USDA spending $3M to feed honeybees in Midwest
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday it will spend millions of dollars to help farmers and ranchers improve pastures in five Midwestern states to provide food for the nation's struggling honeybees. Commercial honeybees pollinate an estimated $15 billion worth of produce each year. Many beekeepers bring hives to the Upper Midwest in the summer for bees to gather nectar and ...
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Partnering is key to improve bee health
The “Bayer’s Perspective on Innovation 2014” international press forum held in Leverkusen, Germany, was the venue for the launch of the company’s first bee health magazine, “BEENOW”. The magazine presents Bayer’s efforts to unite partners from around the world, including research institutes and universities, beekeepers, farmers and industry partners, to ...
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EPA Launches New Websites
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new pesticides website: http://www2.epa.gov/pesticides, and a new biopesticides website: http://www2.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides, among others. EPA states that this gradual move to new versions of its content is part of a larger EPA effort to build a more user-friendly website. The updated biopesticides website focuses on ...
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Pesticide Policy Coalition Sets Priorities Post-Farm Bill
The Pesticide Policy Coalition, made up of farm groups and industry stakeholders, met this week and agreed upon policy priorities for the year ahead. With the 2014 farm bill finally signed, attention can turn to other legislative and regulatory work. EPA has opened comment periods on both spray drift and worker protection proposed rules. The PPC will comment on both rules, as will the American ...
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EPA Grant Will Help Univ. of Vermont Research on Reducing Pesticide Risks for Bees
EPA recently awarded an agricultural grant for $131,758 to the University of Vermont for a project to develop and promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to reduce the use of potentially harmful pesticides and lower risk to bees all while controlling pests and saving money. Specifically, the UVM project is designed to reduce pesticide use and improve pest control, while increasing ...
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EPA plans temporary pesticide restrictions while bees feed
If honeybees are busy pollinating large, blooming croplands, farmers wanting to spray toxic pesticides will soon have to buzz off, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing. A federal rule to be proposed Thursday would create temporary pesticide-free zones when certain plants are in bloom around bees that are trucked from farm to farm by professional beekeepers, which are the majority of ...
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USDA and EPA Release New Report on Honey Bee Health
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health. The report states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure. "There is an important link between the health of American ...
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U.S. Government to spend $3.2 million to help monarch butterfly
The federal government on Monday pledged $3.2 million to help save the monarch butterfly, the iconic orange-and-black butterfly that can migrate thousands of miles between the U.S. and Mexico each year. In recent years, the species has experienced a 90 percent decline in population, with the lowest recorded population occurring in 2013-2014. About $2 million will restore more than 200,000 acres ...
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Ozone pollution reduces tomato fruit yield and viability
Ozone harms pollen viability of tomatoes, leading to reduced fruit weight, size and quality, a recent study has revealed. The researchers suggest the effect of ozone on pollen could be a useful way to rapidly test for pollution-induced stress on crop plants in risk assessments. Ground-level ozone damages plants as well as posing a risk to human health. It negatively affects crop yields and ...
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Organic dairy farmer albert straus speaks out against USDA’s decision on GM alfalfa
As an organic farmer, I protest the USDA’s recent decision to approve the unregulated planting of genetically modified alfalfa. This is a ruling that seriously jeopardizes the integrity of the organic food chain, and could cause irreparable harm to organic farmers by ruining our ability to supply organic dairy foods to customers. I believe that allowing genetically modified alfalfa to be ...
By 3BL Media
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NRCS Honors Four RCDs for Conservation Work in California
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has honored four California Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) as "Outstanding Districts of the Year." The honors were presented at NRCS's partnership awards luncheon held during the 66th annual California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) conference in Stockton on November 9. The Outstanding Districts of the Year ...
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Neonicotinoid pesticides are a huge risk – so ban is welcome, says EEA
The European Commission has decided to ban three neonicotinoid insecticides. These chemicals can harm honeybees, according to a large body of scientific evidence, so the European Environment Agency (EEA) commends the precautionary decision to ban them. The three banned insecticides are clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam. A recent assessment from the European Food Safety Authority also ...
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How to Care for Cherries – From Spring to Harvest
Cherry trees are often planted not just for fruit, but for the blossoms they grow. Cherries have a variety of uses – from snacking to baking to making into jam. Cherries can be expensive at the grocery store, and planting a tree or two in the backyard can help save money on this versatile fruit. Follow these tips to care of cherry trees at home or on large acres of land. Choosing Which ...
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Weather Challenges Reflected in June WASDE Report
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 12, 2013 – The June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report released today by the Agriculture Department reflects the slow corn planting season across much of the Corn Belt due to snow, rain and cool weather, according to analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Ninety-five percent of this year’s corn crop was planted as of June 9 (only 92 ...
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War on willows
Willows are major environmental weeds of riverbank habitats across much of south-eastern Australia. They obstruct water flow, increase water temperature, change water chemistry and can displace native riverine plant species. A CSIRO project looking at the reproductive ecology and dispersal ability of the most aggressive invasive species of willows in Australia is providing urgently needed ...
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Soybeans Depend on Soil Quality
Years with lower corn prices lead to many farmers making soybeans a bigger part of their crop plan. The Maximum Farming System® can help make the most of such changes and provide optimal fertilizer management, which varies by crop. For example, corn benefits dramatically from in-furrow fertilization that provides sufficient levels of tissue phosphorus during early growth stages to maximize ...
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