Collaborative Approaches for Pollinator Protection and Productive Agriculture

August 13-15, North Dakota

Check out the EntomologyToday article

Following up on the successful field tour in Mississippi during 2017, ESA P-IE has endorsed another tour in 2018 titled, “Science Policy Pollinator Field Tour: Collaborative Approaches for Pollinator Protection and Productive Agriculture" in partnership with the Honey Bee Health Coalition.

The 2018 Science Policy Pollinator Field Tour will take place in North Dakota August 13-15. It will bring together diverse stakeholders for hands-on understanding of pollinators and the many ways in which they intersect with production agriculture, including: pollinator habitat, honey bee pests and disease, insect pests of economic importance, crop production and crop pest management, and opportunities for collaboration. The field tour will enable candid discussions with the goal of learning from locally-executed case studies in North Dakota. Field tour highlights will include visiting the US Geological Survey Northern Prairie Research Station; the North Dakota State University Agronomy Seed Farm; Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund forage sites, demonstration sites of the Honey Bee Health Coalition’s Bee Integrated Demonstration Project – where beekeepers and farmers are collaborating to implement a suite of best management practices for bee health; and USDA research plots. At these sites, participants will view and learn about innovative pollinator forage plantings, bee pest and disease management, the North Dakota Pollinator Plan, crop pest management, and the various challenges and opportunities facing beekeepers, farmers, and others working to support pollinator health. The tour will also include reflection on how learnings from North Dakota can be leveraged in implementing collaborative approaches for pollinator protection and productive agriculture. 

To maximize the success of this field tour, we need your voice at this event and we hope you will attend. Key stakeholders expected to attend include federal and state policymakers, beekeepers, commodity organizations, supply chain companies, applicators and crop consultants, conservation organizations, public and private sector entomologists and other scientists, and agricultural extension. A selection process will occur to determine the remaining attendees, which will encompass diverse and representative P-IE Section members (academic scientists, private industry scientists, and students). 


Field Tour Agenda

Monday, August 13

Attendees arrive in Bismark, North Dakota.


Tuesday, August 14

Schulz Farm: The Bee Integrated Approach: Farmer-beekeeper collaboration on best practices for bee health. Baldwin, North Dakota.

U.S. Geological Station (USGS) Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Establishing and monitoring pollinator habitat. Jamestown, North Dakota.

Browning Honey Company, Inc.: Exploring a commercial honey production facility. Jamestown, North Dakota.

Overnight in Jamestown, North Dakota.


Wednesday, August 15

Browning Honey Company Apiary near Row Crop Farm: Interactions between bees and row crop production. Jamestown, North Dakota.

USDA-ARS Research Field: Breeding sunflowers for native pollinators and management of non-Apis bees. Casselton, North Dakota.

Attendees will be bussed to the airport in Fargo, North Dakota, where they will be able to fly home anytime after 2:00 PM. 

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