We’re a certified Bee Friendly farm! Bee Friendly Farming (BFF) is an initiative that encourages growers to improve the health of one of our most important pollinators – the bees. The “Bee Friendly Farmer” is an inclusive term intended to recognize Bee Friendly ANYONE who supports bees on all scales of landscape – farms, ranches, businesses, school groups, gardeners, beekeepers, local governments, non-profit organizations, on both private and public grounds.
WHY Does BEE FRIENDLY FARMING Exist?
The widely-reported disappearance of honeybees (Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD) brought public attention to the issues facing both the honeybee
industry and native pollinators. One common factor found in hives lost due to CCD is nutritional stress, due to a lack of access to a wide variety of plants that provide food (forage). A common factor in the decline of native bee populations is a decrease in land available for nesting (called habitat).
Every third food-bite that meets your lips depends on pollination. Bees, as the insect group that does a majority of the pollination work, are thus responsible for providing 30% of the crops produced in the world.
Collectively, 1) an increase in urbanization, and 2) agricultural practices such as monoculture (growing hundreds of acres of just one crop, such as almonds), as well as, 3) the use of chemicals (e.g., pesticides) have led to the decline of forage and habitat for bees.