10/11/2016 USDA PROGRAMS AND POLLINATOR PROTECTION NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE GETTING STARTED WITH NRCS IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATORS

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1 NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE USDA PROGRAMS AND POLLINATOR PROTECTION MATT POWERS AND TRICIA LAVALLEY USDA NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE Formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service NRCS is the primary federal agency that works with private landowners to help them conserve, maintain and improve their natural resources. The agency emphasizes voluntary, science-based conservation; technical assistance; partnerships; incentivebased programs; and cooperative problem solving at the community level. GETTING STARTED WITH NRCS IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATORS 2008 Farm Bill made pollinators and pollinator habitat a priority for all USDA conservation programs. VALUE OF NATIVE BEES HONEY BEES AND CROP POLLINATION 1

2 POLLINATOR CONSERVATION ON FARMS AND ORCHARDS CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS OF NATIVE BEES Food- Bees eat only pollen and nectar. Bees rely on an abundance and variety of flowers and need blooming plants throughout the growing season. Protection from pesticides- Most insecticides are deadly to bees, and unnecessary herbicide use can remove many of the flowers that they need for food. Shelter- Native bees don t build the wax or paper structures we associate with honey bees or wasps, but they do need places to nest. Wood-nesting bees are solitary, often making individual nests in standing dead trees. Ground-nesting bees include solitary species that construct nest tunnels underground. Cavity-nesting social species (bumble bees) make use of small spaces such as abandoned rodent burrows. ENHANCING NEST SITES FOR NATIVE BEE CROP POLLINATORS GENERAL NATIVE POLLINATOR HABITAT REQUIREMENTS IMPROVING HABITAT ON YOUR LAND Minimize Tillage- Many of our best crop pollinators live underground for most of the year, sometimes at the base of the very plants they pollinate. To protect them, turn over soil only where you need to. Allow crops to bolt- If possible, allow leafy crops like lettuce to flower if they don t need to be tilled right away. This gives bees additional food sources. Exercising Care with Insecticides- If you use insecticides, choose ingredients targeted to specific species (for example, Btk for pests such as leaf rollers) and the least harmful formulations (i.e., granules or solutions). Spray on calm, dry evenings, soon after dark when bees are not active. Keep in mind that even when crops are not in bloom, some of your best pollinators are visiting nearby flowers, where they may be killed by drifting chemicals. 2

3 TIPS FOR PESTICIDE USE TIPS FOR PESTICIDE USE - If pesticides can t be avoided, they should be applied directly on target plants to prevent drift, and broad spectrum chemicals should be avoided if at all possible. - Crops should not be sprayed while in bloom & fields should be kept weed free (or mowed prior to insecticide applications) to discourage pollinators. - Nighttime spraying - Periods of low temperature (but be careful of dew!) - Windbreaks, hedgerows, and conservation buffers can be effective barriers to reduce drift from adjacent fields. - Wind related drift can be minimized by spraying during early morning or in the evening. - Sprayers need to be properly calibrated. - Nozzle type- Turbo jet, raindrop, and air-induction nozzles produce less drift than conventional nozzles. MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF MOWING, HAYING, OR GRAZING USDA CONSERVATION PROGRAMS NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS) AND FARM SERVICE AGENCY (FSA) EQIP, CRP, CSP - Only 25-33% of pollinator habitat should be mowed, grazed, or hayed at any one time in order to protect overwintering pollinators, foraging larvae and adults, as well as other wildlife FARM BILL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM (EQIP) With the 2014 Farm Bill, Congress again recognized that pollinators are a crucial part of the healthy agricultural and natural landscapes. The 2014 Act retains all of the pollinator conservation provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill and adds targeted support for the creation of honey bee habitat. 3

4 CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM (CRP) CONSERVATION ENHANCEMENT RESERVE PROGRAM (CREP) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM (CSP) CONSERVATION PRACTICES TO SUPPORT POLLINATORS CONSERVATION COVER -The following Conservation Practices can be used under NRCS programs to create or enhance pollinator habitat while in conjunction, support predators and parasitoids of crop pests. -These practices also serve to reduce or remove the presence of various other resource concerns. CONSIDERATIONS CONSIDERATIONS 4

5 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLANTING METHODS - Hand-crank belly grinder type seeders (left) are low cost and can broadcast seed more evenly than handscattering on larder sites. - Lawn fertilizer spreaders (right). MAINTENANCE DURING ESTABLISHMENT - Weed control is critical in the 1 st and 2 nd years!! - Weeds should be prevented from going to seed in, or adjacent to, the project area during the first two (and possibly three) years after planting to help ensure long-term success. - Common weed-management strategies: - Spot Spraying - Selective Herbicides - Managing Irrigation - Mowing - Hand Weeding CONSERVATION CROP ROTATION (328) -The practice of growing a series of dissimilar/different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons. This practice helps in reducing soil erosion and increases soil fertility and crop yield while providing various nutrients to the soil. -Cover crops used during conservation crop rotations can include forbs (e.g., various legumes, buckwheat etc.) that provide abundant forage for honey bees, native bees, and other pollinators. -Moving insect-pollinated crops no more than 800 feet during the rotation may help maintain local populations of native bees that have become established because of a specific crop or cover crop. 5

6 COVER CROP (340) -A cover crop is a crop planted primarily to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife -CC can include diverse legumes, other forbs, and diverse or single species plantings that provide pollen and nectar for honey bees and native bees. -CC s can include planting blocks of a single species (e.g., crimson clover) designed to provide short-term but abundant bloom, multiple blocks of single species, or a diverse mix of species that provide a sequence of bloom throughout the year CRITICAL AREA PLANTING (342) -Used for soil stabilization. One of the most common practices, associated with all ground disturbing conservation practices. Provides great way to provide micro habitat areas. -Can include bunch grasses and flowering forbs, shrubs, or trees that provide abundant pollen and nectar for native bees and other pollinators, while also helping to prevent erosion on steep slopes. Planted areas may support stable soil for ground-nesting solitary bees, shrubs, or trees for cavitynesting species, or dense vegetation under which bumble bees may hibernate or nest. EARLY SUCCESSIONAL HABITAT DEVELOPMENT/MANAGEMENT (647) -This management practice is important for maintaining open and sunny habitat for pollinators. NOTE: To minimize damage to pollinator populations, disturbance practices should be implemented only every 2 to 3 years in rotation and, ideally, on only 30% or less of the overall site. -This allows for opportunities for recolonization of non-treated habitat. For example, managers could mow or burn a small portion of the habitat (less than 1/3 of the site each year or two) on a 3- to 6-year cycle. - Avoid disturbance when pollinators are most active or during ground-nesting bird season. FIELD BORDERS (386) FILTER STRIP (393) -Plant to prevent soil erosion, reduce nutrient runoff and provide essential habitat. Allowing field borders to become overgrown may provide nesting habitat for bumble bees, as well as abundant forage. -Stable field borders/filter strips may provide opportunities for solitary bees to nest in the soil. -Field borders and filter strips planted as pollinator habitat must be protected from pesticide drift from adjacent crops. Use 647 to maintain plant health and vigor. GRASSED WATERWAY (412) -Used to convey water in safe manner to a stable outlet, aiding in land management. Grassed waterways can include diverse legumes or other forbs that provide pollen and nectar for bees. -In dry regions, these sites may be able to support flowering forbs with higher water requirements and thus provide bloom later in the summer. HEDGEROW PLANTING (422) -Hedgerows provide the opportunity for great nesting habitat for pollinators. Bumble bees may nest in un-mowed grasses planted along the edge of the hedgerow. -While pollinator friendly species can be incorporated into this practice, hedgerows also can help reduce the drift of pesticides into areas of pollinator habitat by capturing pesticide particulates. 6

7 PRESCRIBED GRAZING (528) -Prescribed grazing is the application of livestock at a specified time and intensity to accomplish specific vegetation management goals. -Can help maintain early successional habitat and its associated flowering plants. -Incorporate a diverse plant community that incorporates legumes, forbs, and appropriate flowering woody species to create floral and structural diversity. -At moderate-to-low-stocking rates cattle will preferentially consume grass, giving forbs a competitive advantage, helping to maintain pollinator habitat TILLAGE MANAGEMENT, NO TILL/DIRECT SEED (329) -Practices to improve overall soil health by reducing erosion, especially sheet, rill and wind while helping to maintain moisture and nutrient levels. -Can protect bees that are nesting in the ground at the base of the plants they pollinate. Tillage can destroy or block emergence from these nests. RIPARIAN FOREST BUFFER (391) -A riparian buffer is a vegetated area along a waterway, usually forested, which helps shade and protect the stream from the impacts of adjacent land uses. -These areas can be especially important in mid-summer if drought reduces the availability of pollen and nectar sources in upland sites. -This practice also can help reduce drift of pesticides onto areas of pollinator habitat. STREAM BANK AND SHORELINE PROTECTION (580) -The installation of structural and vegetative practices to rehabilitate and stabilize shorelines to help reduce erosion. -If vegetation is used for stream bank protection, plants can include trees, shrubs, and forbs especially chosen to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR POLLINATOR LOSS OVERVIEW The 2014 Farm Bill authorized up to $20 million in a fiscal year for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP). -ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish. It covers losses due to an eligible adverse weather or loss condition, including blizzards and wildfires. ELIGIBLE HONEYBEES Eligible honeybees include bees housed in a managed hive and used for honey production, pollination or honeybee breeding. Eligible honeybees do not include wild, feral honeybees, leaf cutter bees or other bee species that are not used for producing honey, pollinating or breeding honeybees ELIGIBLE CONDITIONS The losses must be the direct result of an eligible adverse weather or loss condition, including but not limited to: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) (colony loss only); Earthquake; Eligible winter storm (colony loss only); Excessive wind; Flood; Hurricane; Lightning; Tornado; Volcanic eruption; and Wildfire. -FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE INFORMATION PRESENTED TODAY... -OR OTHER QUESTIONS ON USDA PROGRAM AVAILABILITY PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL USDA SERVICE CENTER USDA HOME PAGE: NRCS HOME PAGE: Questions? Franklin County USDA NRCS representatives; Tricia LaValley and Matthew Powers 151 Finney Blvd Malone NY,