Bayer launches Feed a Bee initiative

Bayer CropScience said Thursday that it is launching Feed a Bee, an initiative to increase forage for honey bees and other pollinators that includes growing 50 million flowers and providing additional forage acreage this year.

“Reduced bee habitat has decreased food options for bees at a time when agriculture and apiculture must work together to feed more people than ever,” Bayer CropScience, LP, North America CEO and President Jim Blome said. “The Feed a Bee initiative provides opportunities for everyone to be a part of creating more forage for these amazing creatures.”

Feed a Bee, through collaboration with organizations and individuals, will provide pollinators with the food they need to survive and flourish.

People can participate in the initiative by going to www.feedabee.com and requesting a free packet of wildflower seeds to plant or by asking that the initiative plant seed on their behalf. in 

Feed a Bee will work with at least 50 government and nonprofits to plant thousands of acres of flower-producing crops that will grow between regular crop production periods. Committed groups include the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Project Apis m. and the National Wildlife Turkey Federation.

“By working with Feed a Bee, we are supplying pollinators with access to crucial pollen and nectar sources that they need to live and pollinate crops,” Project Apis m. Executive Director and Almond Board of California’s Bee Task Force Liaison Christi Heintz said. “Bees are critical to our nutrition and diet, and this is a chance to strengthen both bee colonies and our agricultural prospects.”