Jan 9, 2024
Beehives take up little space on the land, but, like other
livestock, bees need space to roam, and they need a varied diet.
Beekeeper Melanie Kirby is a "landless farmer,"
who sets up her beehives on farms and ranches, where the bees can
thrive and the agrarians can take advantage of their pollination
services.
In fact pollination services have become essential to American
agriculture, as monocrop farms don't provide sufficient habitat for
pollinators to thrive, so beekeepers actually ship bees by the
pallet seasonally to sites when trees and other crops are in bloom.
In 2008 the income from pollination services exceeded the price of
honey, which shifted the business model for beekeepers, especially
at the large scale.
Among the many challenges for beekeepers are pesticide use, which
threaten bees and in turn the foods that rely on them. Kirby is
involved in helping to create pollinator protection policies to
spread awareness and safeguard these essential constituents of the
food system.