Bees and Pollinators

Native Pollinator Guide Helps Wild Bees and Organic Farms

Managing farm habitat for wild pollinators
Coordinator: Scott Black, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation,
Portland, OR
Stakeholders: U.S. organic producers interested in wild bee conservation and pollination services

Seed Increase Trials Lead to Release of Promising New Disease- Resistant Varieties

Summary

Investigator: Michael Mazourek, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Project location: Cornell University’s 30 acre certified organic Freeville Organic Research Farm, located 10 miles north of Cornell’s Ithaca, New York main campus.

Pollinator conservation strategies for organic seed producers

photo of bee pollinating This award will help organic seed producers increase their yields, reduce the risk of having their crops contaminated with pollen from non-organic and GMO varieties, and improve biodiversity on their farms. Growers who raise organic seed crops that are pollinated by bees, such as alfalfa, canola, cotton and beets, have increasingly had their plants contaminated with pollen from non-organic and GMO varieties.