Login
Honey Bee Health Coalition Partners Beekeepers and Landowners Together to Enhance Pollinator Health
The Honey Bee Health Coalition, which is facilitated by the Keystone Policy Center, is finding remarkable results partnering beekeepers and landowners together to support pollinator health through the Bee Integrated Demonstration Project.
“We know there are a lot of challenges facing honey bees and the intent of the Bee Integrated Demonstration Project is to try to solve those multiple challenges in one project and show how that can be done by bringing together best practices,” said Julie Shapiro, senior policy director at the Keystone Policy Center, in a video produced by Healthy Hives 2020, one of the funders of the project.
The Bee Integrated Demonstration Project was piloted in North Dakota, which is both the nation’s leading honey production state and the home of apiaries that provide pollination services across the country. The goal is for beekeepers and producers throughout North America to apply the lessons learned from the project to improve bee and butterfly health in their own areas.
“By putting a suite of best practices together, we’re trying to show how you can take a multifactor problem and create a multifactor, collaborative solution,” said Shapiro.
- Pairs local beekeepers and producers to apply best management practices;
- Supports these pairs with expertise, training and resources;
- Measures the impact on bee populations for three years;
- Shares findings with the beekeeping and agricultural communities.
The Honey Bee Health Coalition’s initial pilot of the Bee Integrated approach paired six beekeepers with farmers or landowners and has found that, compared with a control, the best practices implemented together resulted in:
- Larger honey bee colony sizes;
- Increased pollen diversity in the bees’ diets;
- More managed and native bees observed;
- Enhanced motivation by participating farmers and landowners to understand and help their beekeeper partners.
“I’m involved in the Bee Integrated Demonstration Project because I feel like we have a responsibility as beekeepers to tell our story, and we’re working with everybody in agriculture and everybody who has to do with landscape decisions,” said beekeeper Zac Browning.
“I realized [beekeepers] have just as many or more challenges as we do,” said farmer Scott Krogstad, who also saw bees and other pollinators feeding on the forage he planted. “It takes a little time and effort to get the plot established, but…if you weren’t making any money on that ground in the past, it’s just a good decision.”
The Honey Bee Health Coalition is looking to expand the project by encouraging more farmers and beekeepers to join. Details of the program and instructions on how to get involved can be found on the coalition’s website.
Funding and in-kind support for the project is provided by the Almond Board of California, The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund, Bayer CropScience’s Healthy Hives 2020 program (administered by Project Apis m.), Corteva Agriscience, the National Honey Board (also administered by Project Apis m.), the North Dakota Outdoor Heritage Fund, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, the North Central IPM Center, Syngenta, Veto-Pharma, and the Honey Bee Health Coalition. Additional implementation partners include the Bee Informed Partnership, Conservation Technology Information Center, Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Effective March 1, 2025, Thomas J. Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, became the first Chief Executive Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation. In this new role, Governor Vilsack is focusing on expanding the Foundation’s global network, and will further position the Foundation as a leader in addressing global food and nutrition insecurity, continuing his lifetime of public service.
Shelby Coffey III is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and thought leader whose career has helped shape the landscape of American news and public discourse. Over several decades, Coffey has held some of the most influential roles in journalism, including serving as editor of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of ABC News, and deputy managing editor of The Washington Post. His editorial leadership extended to key roles as president of CNN Financial News, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and U.S. News & World Report.
Jerry Steiner has spent 40 years involved in agriculture following growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm. He began his career with Monsanto, in multiple business leadership roles. From 2003-2013 he served as a member of the Executive team, as the company’s Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs. He led the company’s global Government, Public and Industry Affairs teams across the 70 countries where Monsanto conducts business. This experience got Jerry connected to the Keystones centers work in agriculture. Key among his responsibilities were shaping the company’s public policy and building partnerships aimed at helping farmers around the world produce more food, while conserving valuable resources like water and energy. Two unique partnership that developed under his leadership were drought tolerant corn with 5 African countries, CIMMYT and the Gates foundation, and a building a sustainable business model in Brazil with the value chain leading to significant multi-company investment and soybean varieties that can protected themselves.
Jennifer Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy, leading a team of nearly 6,000 staff working in more than 80 countries and territories tackling the dual crises of the 
Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first Black Member of Congress in Colorado history. In December 2022, Rep. Neguse was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), becoming the first Coloradan to serve in a senior elected leadership role in the House in over 85 years. He serves on the Natural Resources and Judiciary Committees, and was also appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to serve as one of four Democrats on the prestigious Rules Committee. Rep. Neguse serves as Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, which he previously Chaired in the 117th Congress.
Llewellyn King was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He went into journalism as soon as he turned 16, stringing for Time magazine and United Press in Africa.
Steven Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo North America, overseeing a more than $48 billion business that spans PepsiCo’s Foods and Beverage operating units. His leadership encompasses more than 125,000 associates and over 900 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Steven joined PepsiCo in 2001 as part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997, and has held leadership positions of increased responsibility since.