Think about the last time you enjoyed your morning cup of coffee or an afternoon snack of chips and some delightful guacamole. Now imagine those moments without coffee beans or avocados.

More than a quarter of all plants consumed in the U.S. are dependent upon honey bee pollination.

Bees play a vital role in our agricultural system, making the care and protection of bees critical to the future of our planet’s food security. Bayer has dedicated 25 years to ensuring the protection of bees through its Bee Care Program.

Bayer’s Bee Care Program brings our extensive experience and knowledge in bee health under a coordinated global initiative. The program includes dedicated Bayer Bee Care Centers in the U.S. and Europe, ongoing bee health research and engagement with key stakeholders about topics such as product stewardship and biodiversity.

Our Bee Care Program includes:

• CARE CENTERS: Fostering discussion and sharing new ideas with beekeepers, growers and others interested in engaging in the conversation on bee health
• COMMUNITY: Building on more than 25 years of providing products to combat bee diseases with new research and development
• STEWARDSHIP: Working with partners to develop new technologies to support product stewardship and sustainable agriculture

Honey Bee Health
Bee Health is a complex issue and there are many factors affecting bees. Our bee health fact sheet provides information on how critical bees are to our agriculture. LEARN MORE >

Forbes published an article titled “Science Collapse Disorder -- The Real Story Behind Neonics And Mass Bee Deaths” that separates the facts from the fiction when it comes to pesticides and their alleged effects on bee health. LEARN MORE ABOUT FACTORS AFFECTING HONEY BEES >

Follow us on Twitter at @Bayer4CropsUS to share why bees are important to you. Also, join us on Flickr at Bayer4CropsUS to see the latest in our bee health adventures!

Bayer Bee Care Centers

Through Bayer’s new Bee Care Centers in the U.S. and Europe, we will further stakeholder collaboration and understanding of the health of bees.

The Centers are designed to include existing and future bee health initiatives, including treatments against new and emerging bee parasites and diseases, as well as the active promotion of bee-responsible use of our products. The Centers will also include state-of-the-art meeting, training and presentation facilities for beekeepers, growers, researchers and educators; as well as a central location for leading researchers and others committed to ensuring the protection of bees.

Bee Health Research
In less than 40 years, the worldwide human population is expected to grow to as many as 9 billion people¹. With billions more people to feed, more food will need to be produced over the next 50 years than has been produced during the past 10,000 years.

As the world population increases, the importance for sound research will be instrumental to providing growers and beekeepers with the tools needed to produce enough nutritious food to feed everyone.

Through our research, we are continuously developing innovative bee health solutions. Because bee health is a complex issue, we will continue to develop new solutions to support promising research projects.

Engagement and Collaboration
Innovative research surrounding honey bee health can’t be done in a vacuum, which is why Bayer partners with multiple stakeholders, including beekeepers, growers and crop protection product manufacturers, as well as governments, research institutions, universities, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the general public. Together, we can focus efforts to find solutions that will improve bee health.

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¹ - http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/pressrelease.pdf

Bee Health in the Community

Through Bayer’s Bee Care Program, we are committed to educating the public on the vital role bees play in our backyards, communities, our crop fields and in our world. Community outreach events will give Bayer the opportunity to share with others the activities of the Bee Care Centers and our efforts to promote bee health. Details on Bayer’s commitment to lawns, gardens and  urban landscapes can be found below:

Bee Care Tour Info
Bayer launched its inaugural mobile Bee Care Tour at Ag Issues Forum and Commodity Classic in Orlando, Fla., which strives to foster education and collaboration among  those interested in honey bee health. The specially-wrapped vehicle and interactive exhibit are traveling to university agriculture schools and farm communities across the Midwest. Tour stops will include The Ohio State University in Wooster; University of Illinois in Urbana; Iowa State University in Ames; The University of Nebraska in Lincoln; and University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Everyone who visits the exhibit has the opportunity to commit to be a champion for bee health encouraging everyone to make pollinator health and stewardship a priority. TOUR INFO >  |   PRESS RELEASE >

Bayer Bee Care Tour Engages others in Importance of Bee Health
Audio provided as a service to farm broadcasters by Bayer CropScience.

The Bayer Bee Care Centers in North Carolina provides educational opportunities for beekeepers, farmers, the general public and other groups interested in conserving, preserving and protecting bees. The Center’s manager Dick Rogers has been a professional entomologist for more than 35-years and has kept and studied honey bees since the early 1970’s. Rogers talked about the importance of bee health in the agriculture industry with the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Seanica and Otterby.

For more information on the Bee Care Tour – Go to Facebook and search Bayer Bee Care Tour or Twitter @BayerBeeCare.

National Pollinator Week

During this year’s National Pollinator Week, Bayer held several community events giving everyone an opportunity to join the buzz by taking part in the life cycle of flowering plants. Through a Pollinator Pledge, the planting of its own bee-friendly pollinator garden and more, Bayer fostered discussion and sharing of new ideas with others interested in bee health.

Through Bayer’s Pollinator Pledge, hundreds of people pledged to plant their own bee-friendly gardens by requesting a free packet of wildflower seeds. For every packet requested, Bayer donated $1 to the non-profit Pollinator Partnership in support of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC), a tri-national collaboration in which diverse stakeholders work to protect and conserve all pollinators. The success of the initiative allowed Bayer to donate $10,000 to continue supporting efforts to protect the health of pollinators.

Eno River Festival
Bayer joined the non-profit Eno River Association at its 33rd Eno River Festival to help conserve and protect the natural, cultural and historic resources of the Eno River basin in North Carolina. Bayer lined up several activities to educate the public. Attendees got to see a portable bee hive; met Bayer’s resident beekeeper, Dick Rogers, and sampled several varieties of local honey.

See all of the action from National Pollinator Week and the Eno River Festival by visiting us on Flickr at Bayer4CropsUS.

Product Stewardship

In the United States, more than $15 billion of crops are pollinated by bees each year. As part of our commitment to product stewardship, honey bee scientists at Bayer's Bee Care Centers collaborated with growers and industry partners to develop educational tools to help producers select the appropriate seed treatment products and ensure they are used in the most efficient and responsible manner.

The value of bees as pollinators has been known for many years, but unfortunately, this knowledge is not widely appreciated and understood. As we face the challenge to produce more food, fuel and fiber for a growing world population, bees play a vital role in helping farmers establish a healthy harvest in a sustainable manner.

In our ongoing efforts to advance environmental stewardship and sustainable agricultural practices, we perform extensive lab and field studies to investigate the potential effects our products may have on beneficial insects by conducting risk assessments and implementing appropriate safeguards.

Responsible stewardship can only be accomplished by working side-by-side with dealers, distributors, growers, industry partners and other stakeholders.

At Bayer, we are committed to sustaining the future of agriculture.