Pollinators

Data from the Natural Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) has ecologists and entomologists buzzing. America’s bee population is growing, making them the fastest-growing livestock segment in the country. But does that mean the nation’s pollinator crisis is over?

What do watermelon, canola, soybeans, and pumpkins have in common? They’re all Kentucky-grown crops that would not exist without bees.

“Pollinators are the cornerstone of our environment, as far as I’m concerned,” says Linda Porter, an Inter-County Energy Cooperative consumer-member from Danville, who is the butterfly and pollinator chair for the Garden Club of Kentucky. “If we were to lose them, we would lose many of the fruits and vegetables that we eat, because those plants rely on pollinators.”