It’s a time to celebrate the bugs that keep us alive during National Pollinator Week. That’s today’s This Land of Ours.
Photo by Sabrina Halvorson
National Pollinator Week is an annual event celebrated internationally in support of pollinator health. It’s a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proclamation in recognition and support of National Pollinator Week. The proclamation says in part, “Pollinator health is important to the well-being of U.S. agriculture, food security, and the Nation’s overall economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture invests in and supports pollinator health and conservation stewardship, including protecting and maintaining their habitats on working lands and wildlands.”
Pollinator species, such as bees, other insects, birds, and bats play a critical role in producing more than 100 crops grown in the United States. Honey bee pollination alone adds more than $18 billion in value to agricultural crops annually.
We’re celebrating Pollinator Week all week long, and you can too by using #pollinatorweek in your social media posts.
Listen to Sabrina Halvorson’s This Land of Ours program here.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.