JANUARY 2018 SEEDWORLD.COM / 35 TIP easily, it can open their eyes a little,” Smith said. “It’s not as simple as picking them up or moving them to a barn for the day.” In the same way, many beekeepers expect farmers to only spray on days with no wind, which isn’t possible when con- sidering limited planting windows. “When we’re able to bring these groups together for various job swap days, they can start to appreciate each other’s chal- lenges a little more and start working together on new projects,” Smith said. Klassen agrees. “As a grower, one of the things to think about is where the hives are, especially when you’re loading seed in the spring. You need to make sure you’re loading those machines as far away from the bees as possible. That’s when the most dust-off potential can occur,” Klassen said. Common goals Recently, Smith has seen farmers and beekeepers work together on a cover crop research project. Beekeepers want to add supplemental bee forage while farmers look for soil benefits and weed manage- ment solutions. Working together helps sat- isfy both of those needs with one project. “By bringing their respective areas of expertise to the conversation, the out- comes are even better,” Smith said. Another example of a collaborative pro- ject is adding pollinator habitats on farms. “They can work together to select ideal locations and plant mixes,” Smith said. Smith believes that collaborative efforts led by Honey Bee Health Coalition show how farmers can work together of their own accord. “They don’t need an official program to do things like that. Plus, it doesn’t cost anything for them to get together and work on it. All it takes is one person being willing to reach out and ask for help in implementing an idea,” Smith said. State-managed efforts However, in order to foster these natural partnerships, many states are working to encourage those connections and coor- dinate resources. The U.S. Pollinator Health Task Force was created in 2014 with the goal to have state agencies or other groups lead the development of Managed Pollinator Protection Plans (MP3s), which are col- laboratively developed by state agencies, beekeepers, growers and other stake- holder groups. These MP3s are specific to each state but they all aim to encourage communica- tion and collaboration between various parties in the agricultural community to develop best management practices that minimize the risks of pesticides to bees. For example, North Dakota, the top honey producing state in the nation, has more than 500,000 hives during some parts of the year. At the same time, over 90% of North Dakota acreage is used for agriculture, so collaboration is key to ensuring success for both beekeepers and farmers. Beekeepers are required by law to register their hive locations with the state and a detailed map is available that shows the precise location of hives throughout the state, as well as contact information for each beekeeper. Beekeepers are able to sign up for pesticide treatment alerts, while farmers or other pesticide applica- tors can receive alerts for new apiary locations in their area. “Some states have that mandatory registry but beekeepers may have the option to register their hives in other states, so it’s important for them to do that if it’s voluntary,” Smith said. According to the USDA Regional IPM Centers Information Network, 13 states have finalized their MP3 and 24 states are either drafted or in progress. Others are planned for the future. Seasonal reminders Klassen knows farmers are busy people. They don’t often have spare time to contribute to large-scale pollinator pro- jects or attend pollinator-specific trainings or discussions. He recommends adding pollinator health discussions to the agenda of any meeting where farmers are already gathered. It’s also important to keep the lines of communication open and the connections current. “It’s so important for beekeepers to follow the state’s protocol for registering hive locations,” Klassen said. He recommends checking in, at mini- mum, every year in the spring. “You can never assume that someone you talked to a year ago will be doing things exactly the same now,” he said. It’s as simple as a phone call, or in some cases like in North Dakota, perhaps just signing up for automatic alerts. “Once they have access to their local beekeepers’ information, for example, by checking a state-managed database, all they have to do is check in,” Smith said, Savinelli said that’s what many of the MP3s’ greatest benefits will be. “They are bringing about the communi- cation that needs to happen every spring,” she said. Of course, it’s also important to let bee- keepers know about pesticide applications and other major activities later in the season, but beginning the conversation each spring is a place to start, and once those connec- tions are made, it’s easier to maintain them. “Awareness is up considerably, thanks to a lot of these efforts,” Klassen said. As spring approaches and planting for a new year begins, working together is espe- cially important. One in three mouthfuls of food is reli- ant in some way on a pollinator. At the same time, farmers are pressured to plow fence rows and tree lines to make room for larger equipment as they strive to increase production to meet the needs of a growing population. “It’s important to ask where can we make room for pollinator health to be a priority in the context of a productive and profitable agricultural system, and the only way to answer that is by encouraging col- laboration,” Smith said. 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