Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Xerces Society has received some cash to study the interplay between pollinators, the plants they need, and farmland.

The Oregon research group will use the money to explore how bees and other helpful insects are supported by the habitat around farmland.

The Society's Mace Vaughan says farmers can cultivate healthy bee habitats. But Vaughan says whether you're a cherry grower in the Dalles, or a blueberry grower in the Willamette Valley, you're unlikely to plant if there's no scientific proof of benefits.

Mace Vaughan: "For a grower to take the time and energy to take the time and energy to put habitat on the ground, or even potentially to take a little of their farm out of production, they need to know it's going to work!"

The idea is to see exactly what hedgerows or other plantings along the sides of fields can do for crop production.

The money was awarded by the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service.

It will support two more years of study in what's already a three-year project.

Online:

Xerces Society - Pollinator Conservation