Bayer and the Bees

Joanna Schroeder

When a honey bee lands on a flower, she is helping to feed the world. Didn’t really think about it like that did you? In fact, honey bees are vital to agriculture and our food supply, and many bee populations have been dwindling at an alarming rate. This is why Bayer CropScience has launched a program to save the bees. The Bee Ambassador Program is an awareness and educational campaign aimed at showcasing the importance of bees. The company has also unveiled several Bee Care Centers.

Bayer’s Bee Ambassador Program will integrate key topics related to honey bee management and health with issues facing agriculture. Ambassadors will engage at the local level with beekeepers, farmers, researchers, government officials, educators, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the general public about the value of honey bees and the challenges they face.

During the 2012 Farm Progress Show, Cindy Zimmerman had an opportunity to learn more about Bayer’s Bees from Robyn Kneen. She explained that bees pollinate more than one-third of our crops so they play a very, very important role in agriculture. Without bees 90 percent of the world’s food would not exist.

We’re looking at the various factors that affect bee health so we’re doing research to the different factors, particularly the Varroa mite. That is a big problem for beekeepers today,” said Kneen. “We’re also promoting best practices in terms of stewardship of use of best products to ensure crop protection and agriculture and bees all live in harmony together.”

Bayer strongly believes supporting bee health requires ongoing collaboration and engagement to build new relationships with stakeholders and the Ambassador Program will become an integral component of Bayer’s outreach efforts.

Bayer's Bees

2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, Farm Progress Show