Committed to health.
A variety of factors have led to a widely documented and concerning decline in honey bee health, including activities associated with both beekeeping and crop production, putting at risk many of the foods we count on for a stable, nutritious food supply. Whilst the total number of honey bee hives in the US has remained stable for the past 20 years,2 maintaining healthy, stable hives is beekeepers’ big challenge. That’s why the Almond Board of California has taken extraordinary steps to be good partners to beekeepers in promoting bee health, including the almond community’s recently launched five-point Pollinator Protection Plan. We have funded more honey bee health research than any other crop group,3 supporting 125 research projects since 1995.
Research funded by the California almond community, along with that of universities, government agencies, and non-profits informed the Honey Bee Best Management Practices (BMPs) for California Almonds. Guidelines for everyone involved in the pollination process, the Honey Bee BMPs provide recommendations ranging from making the orchard a safe and welcoming place for honey bees to how to treat for pests and disease without harming bees.