Learning Hub Series: Pollinator-friendly farming

Farm Sustainability Learning Hub Series in association with Bord Bia

Pollinators are important to farmers who grow pollinator-dependent crops and to those of us who want to grow our own fruits and vegetables.

Currently, wild pollinators contribute an estimated value of up to nearly €900 million to the Irish economy through production and trade in pollinated crops. 

Bord Bia is currently developing a module for the Farm Sustainability Learning Hub on pollinator-friendly farming. The module will explore how farmers can manage the landscape on their farms in a more pollinator-friendly way and create a network of diverse and flower-rich habitats.

The module is focused on the three areas below:

1. Why do farmers need pollinators?

Pollination is the movement of pollen to allow plant fertilisation. Pollination ensures that a plant will produce full-bodied fruit and viable seeds.

For crop producers, this means reliable yields of high-quality produce, and for consumers it means the availability of a range of fruit and vegetables at an affordable price. It also means a diverse and plant-rich natural landscape that is wildlife friendly.

2. What is a pollinator in Ireland?

Most insect pollination on the island of Ireland is carried out by bees, mostly provided by wild bees. On the island of Ireland, we have one managed pollinator, the honeybee, and over 100 different types of wild bee. 20% of them are bumblebees and 80% are solitary bees.

Research shows that reliable pollination services depend not only on healthy honeybee populations, but also on an abundance and diversity of wild bees and other insect pollinators.

3. What can farmers do to help pollinators survive and thrive?

Lack of food is a major cause of pollinator declines. Bees feed only on pollen and nectar from flowers. Nectar gives the adults energy for flying and they feed pollen to their young.

To have a healthy balanced diet, bees need to be able to feed on a range of different flowers from March right through to October. Spring is when bees are most at risk of starvation. 

Farmers can also help provide adequate shlter. Bumblebees nest in long grass (often at the base of hedgerows). Most solitary bee nest by making little tunnels in bare soil, while a small number nest in existing cavities in dry stone walls, masonry or wood. 

Bees also need to be protected from insecticides. Equally, they need areas of food and shelter that are free from herbicides and fungicides. 

Fact: Traditional farming was very pollinator friendly because it was naturally flower-rich. There were hay meadows, annual flowers in cereal crops, more wildflowers along lanes and in field corners due to less spraying, more flowers in hedgerows due to less mechanisation and we grew more of our own fruits and vegetables. In the past 50 years, advances in farming have reduced the amount of flowers and it is inevitable that we now have fewer bees. 

Five actions for bee-friendly farming: 

1. Maintain native flowering hedgerows;
2. Allow wildflowers to grow around the farm;
3. Provide nesting places for wild bees;
4. Minimise artificial fertiliser use;
5. Reduce pesticide inputs.

Benefits of pollinator-friendly farming

Taking actions to support pollinators on farms will benefit farmers by:

• Maximising production value via increased yields of crops;
• Providing additional benefits such as improving natural pest control or protecting watercourses by creating pesticides/fertiliser buffer zones;
• Managing hedgerows for pollinators will allow the hedge to grow and provide shade for animals when required. Hedges can also help with flood mitigation and pest control;
• Clover pasture, herbal leys, and mixed-species sward can mitigate against the negative effects of drought. They can also have additional benefits for the soil;
• Maintaining a healthy and sustainable farm ecosystem and ensuring your land remains in as good, or better, a natural state as when you got it;
• Reinforcing Ireland’s vital green image in premium markets.

Fact: On farmland, hedgerows are vital to the survival of pollinators. Good hedgerows can provide food (flowers) from spring right through to autumn, shelter for nesting and overwintering, and act as corridors that help pollinators move through the landscape. Protect what native hedgerows you already have on your farm and make sure they are allowed to flower.

Next steps

Join the thousands of other farmers who have registered for the Farm Sustainability Learning Hub.

Visit farm.bordbia.ie to enroll in the Farm Sustainability Learning Hub.

You will be asked to enter your herd number and the pin number you received at your last audit. If you do not know this, there is a ‘forgot pin’ option that will text the pin to your mobile phone.