AgroPages-Bayer and The Wildlife Society collaborate on the forage tour-Agricultural news

Bayer's Feed a Bee program and The Wildlife Society (TWS) said this week they are collaborating on the first annual forage tour to educate communities about bees and native wildflowers and to establish more wildflower patches in Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Texas for bee forage next spring.

"The Feed a Bee program is tackling a really important need for pollinators by conducting plantings across the nation this fall," TWS CEO Ken Williams said. "At TWS, dedicated chapter members in each region are working now to identify the optimum mix of wildflower seeds to plant in each location to ensure pollinators have access to a wide variety of diverse nutrition sources when bloom occurs in the spring."

The national initiative's mission is to plant more wildflowers to nourish pollinators, including honeybees and native bees. Feed a Bee partners participating in the current project to plant pollinator-attracting plants include The Packers of Indian River, Salem4youth, McCarty Family Farms and Texas Tech University Department of Plant and Soil Science.

"Every additional bit of forage planted helps pollinators, whether it's next to a community garden, alongside cropland or in a homeowner's backyard," North American Bayer Bee Care Program Project Manager Becky Langer said. "We're proud to work with TWS and our other fantastic Feed a Bee partners this fall for the first annual forage planting tour. By planting these wildflower seeds, we're helping to sow a healthier spring for honey bees and other pollinators."