St. Patrick’s Day Dinner - Honey bees support agriculture industry
Wisconsin’s $104.8 billion agriculture industry gets a lot of attention, but there’s another category of small, but mighty workers, that also help keep the agriculture industry thriving – the honey bee.
The state was ranked 11th in the nation, in 2022, for the production of honey. With approximately 53,000 honey hives in the state, Wisconsin produced nearly 3 million pounds of this sticky-sweet substance, making the state honey an $8.86 million industry.
But, honey bees do much more than just produce a delicious product that people love to eat. They’re pollinators that play an essential role in the growth of various pro-duce crops in the state.
Many favorite foods are partially or fully reliant on insect pollinator, to produce fruit, including cranberries, apples, strawberries and tomatoes, among others. Other pollinators, like flower flies, butterflies, and hummingbirds, also offer important contributions to crop and wildflower pollination.
Through state statutes, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is tasked with overseeing the state’s beekeeping industry, and monitoring for the detection and eradication of honey bee pests, and diseases. In addition, the department regulates the import of honey bees and beekeeping equipment into the state.
Through the Pollinator Protection Plan, the DATCP first developed in 2016, the department also educates and empowers homeowners, gardeners, farmers and pesticide applicators to do what they can to protect pollinators, the food supply and the agricultural economy.
“DATCP staff work to promote honey bee health, from providing certificates to seasoned commercial beekeepers, so they can transport their bees to other states, for crop pollination, to hobbyists just getting started, who need advice,” said Brian Kuhn, director of the DATCP’s Plant Industry Bureau. “We also reach out to beekeepers from out-of-state, seeking to bring bees to Wisconsin, to ensure import requirements are met.”
The DATCP also supports the beekeeping industry, by employing an Apiary Program Coordinator and two other inspectors, devoted solely to the state’s apiary industry and hobbyists. Apiary program staff provide free seasonal inspections, pest and disease diagnostic services, and educational outreach, for over 250 honey producers and commercial pollinators, each year.
They also provide management recommendations for established pests like Varroa mites and diseases like European foulbrood. Staff collect honey bee samples each year, as part of a national survey, in an attempt to detect emerging threats to beekeepers, like Tropilaelaps mites.
Simply put, honey bees are an important element of Wisconsin agriculture, working alongside humans to keep flowering crops thriving.
To find out more about how to help protect managed and wild pollinators, visit datcp.wi.gov.
