Oregon Celebrating National Pollinator Week

Oregon is home to about 500 species of native bees, something that’s critical for the state’s ag industry and many in the state are proudly celebrating National Pollinator Week this week.

Sarah Kincaid, an entomologist and bee specialist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture said, “There’s a real symbiotic relationship between many of the crops we produce here and bees. The crops are providing the bees with the resources they need for their biological development and then bees are providing pollination for the crops.”

Goals of National Pollinator Week are awareness and education on the plight of pollinators and how farmers can help them.

Kincaid notes that’s not anything that the average Oregon farmer doesn’t already know.

“I’ve noticed a much greater awareness in Oregon growers than growers I’ve met in other parts of the country. Crops we produce here, many of them rely on insect pollination. So they are much more aware of the needs of pollinators, I think, as a general rule.”

In other good news for bees in Oregon, while bee population seems to be declining worldwide, Kincaid said there is no evidence of any decline bees in the state.