We already met the queen bee of the new Bayer CropScience North American Bee Care Center, now meet her counterpart at the first Bayer Bee Care Center in Monheim, Germany – Annette Schürmann.
The German center opened at the global headquarters for Bayer CropScience in 2012. “We built it upon the research work that had been over the last 30 years at that site,” said Annette, adding that they get visitors ranging from school children to diplomats.
She says that beekeeping is different in Europe compared to the United States. “The most important difference we have is that in Europe we mainly have hobbyists doing beekeeping,” Annette said. “They don’t make any money out of pollination.” That compares with the large scale beekeepers in the U.S. who will travel to pollinate crops across the country from almonds in California to oranges in Florida.
Still, Europe faces some of the same issues. “The varroa mite was introduced to Europe much earlier than to the U.S.,” said Annette. “So we do have a longer history in dealing with that pest.”
Listen to my interview with Annette here: Interview with Annette Schürmann, Monheim Bayer Bee Care Center