Bayer teams with Project Apois m. for Healthy Hives 2020 initiative

The Healthy Hives 2020 Initiative is one of Bayer’s efforts to improve the honey bee population.
The Healthy Hives 2020 Initiative is one of Bayer’s efforts to improve the honey bee population. | File photo

The health of the honey bee population has drawn the attention of Bayer and Project Apis m. who have teamed together to sponsor the Healthy Hives 2020 Initiative, a multi-year, $1 million research effort to improve the health of honey bees by the year 2020. 

Project Apis m is the leading non-profit for pollination research.

The research goals for the project, which is being overseen by Project Apis m. with the help of Bayer-funded research grants, are to find the true cost of commercial beekeeping; design Best Management Practices to optimize health in the commercial beekeeping environment; monitor honey bee health during commercial migratory operations; and assess genetics for traits which help and hurt honey bee health and production.

“While the overall number of honey bee colonies continues to increase, they are still being impacted by a wide range of health-related issues,” Christi Heintz, executive director of Project Apis m., said. “In issuing a request for proposals, our goal is to identify scientists and promising research initiatives that can help solve some of the most critical concerns facing beekeepers today.”

The Healthy Hives 2020 Initiative is only one of Bayer’s efforts to improve the honey bee population as part of the Bayer North American Bee Care Program. Other programs include Feed a Bee, which distributes seed to plant more than 65 million pollinating flowers. 

Bayer has also formed over 70 partnerships to plant acres of forage for honey bees.