IN YOUR ORCHARD
THE BEE BOX
Conversations with a Beekeeper: Mitigating Risks Through Climate Smart Practices
Spring is well underway, which means almond bloom has come and gone and the bees have completed their important work of pollinating California’s almond orchards. Despite some wet and windy conditions, warmer temperatures prevailed, and several periods of near- perfect weather had growers and beekeepers celebrating a fruitful pollination season! The industry is now shifting gears; beekeepers have moved bees into different crops across the country and growers are tending to their quickly- developing orchards. Those who grew cover crops through the Climate Smart Grant are terminating their stands and preparing orchards for yet another year of supporting pollinators through climate smart practices. I spoke with local beekeeper, Jason Miller, to discuss the various benefits of cover crops from a beekeeper’s perspective. Read on to learn more about the pollinator-friendly practices covered through the grant and how growers and beekeepers are working together to protect bee health. Jason Miller, owner of Miller Honey Farms, is a fourth- generation beekeeper here in California. Every year, their bees get their start pollinating almonds, and despite some complications from the rainy winter, he reports that “from pollination to nut set, it was a good year.” There are many variables outside our control that determine how bloom and pollination will go. (Take it from Miller, who had about 200 colonies washed away in a flash flood this year!) Factors such as weather, temperature, frost, hive strength, orchard location and soil type can play a significant role in the season’s outcomes. Miller supposes that if you can “retain control of your pollinators, keep them healthy, and keep them in your orchards,” the less likely it is for those unknown elements to have adverse impacts in your orchard. By planting cover crops to help manage bee health, you can build a better defense against these factors and foster a more resilient system for the bees and your trees.
Using the example of exceptionally cold winters, Miller says “it’s all about the strong colonies.” He explained that in winter, when almonds are in bloom, a beehive doesn’t naturally want to be big, but instead, like everything else in winter, bees slow down and rest. A weaker hive might end up spending most of its resources keeping warm instead of building brood and foraging in response to the almond bloom. By providing additional natural forage for bees during this critical period, a grower can “retain control” and mitigate the risks of unpredictable conditions. When bees find a reliable source of nutritious food, it triggers a positive response throughout the entire hive. Incoming pollen from cover crops stimulates the hive to begin its reproduction cycle and start increasing its population. As the number of bees increases inside the colony, more bees are freed up for foraging. This leads
Early-blooming cover crops can signal the coming of spring, which encourages bees to break their winter dormancy and begin the foraging cycle. Bare soils that lack forage and diversity compel bees to stay inside to keep warm, signaling that winter is not yet over! Image Credit: Project Apis m.
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ALMOND FACTS
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