| I wanted to let you know that I have been leading a Senate effort to increase funding for honeybee and pollinator research. When my Pollinator Protection Act became part of the Farm Bill, it included $20 million in authorized funding for this research for fiscal year 2009. We are working to ensure that this level of funding is made available and that the authorization stays in a final Farm Bill. |
Fully one third of our nation’s agricultural crops depend on bees and other pollinators, which contribute an estimated $15 billion in direct economic production and another $75 billion in indirect contributions. Yet our managed honeybee colonies have declined by 50 percent since 1960, while demand for their services has continued to grow. And, recently, their decline has been exacerbated by the emergence of
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a little-understood phenomenon of unexplained declines in bees populations.
Funding for pollinator and honeybee research has been historically anemic. Now, faced with the decline in their populations, we must take decisive steps to bolster our knowledge of their vital services.
If you would like to view the text of our letter to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture urging this increase in funding, please click
here.
If you would like to learn more about what you can do to promote pollinators in your garden and community, the following guides are a great start:
Together we can ensure the security of our food supply, and health of the natural systems our society depends upon for generations to come.
