scholarly journals What Is the Value of and Who Values Native Bee Pollination for Wild Blueberries and Cranberries?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron K. Hoshide ◽  
Francis A. Drummond ◽  
Thomas H. Stevens ◽  
Eric Venturini ◽  
Samuel P. Hanes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Native Bees ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Invertebrate Conservation ◽  
Native Bee ◽  
Wild Blueberries ◽  
Wild Blueberry

Recent pollinator declines have focused efforts on their conservation which require clear estimates of pollination value to agriculture. Our socio-economic producer surveys and agronomic field research data were used to present a new way of estimating ecosystem service value of native pollinators. Using two regionally important U.S.A. crops, Maine wild blueberry and Massachusetts cranberry as models, we present perceived values of native bee pollinators from both consumer and producers. Wild blueberry’s Replacement Cost (RC) was greater than Attributable Net Income (ANI), since greater rented honey bee stocking densities are required. Attributable Net Income for native bees were similar for wild blueberry ($613/ha) and cranberry ($689/ha). Marginal Net Farm Income (MNFI) from incrementally adding more hives per ha was greater from stocking a third/fourth hive per ha for cranberry ($6,206) than stocking a ninth/tenth hive per ha for wild blueberry ($556), given greater responsiveness of yield, revenue, and profit to using rented honey bee hives in cranberry compared to wild blueberry. Both crops’ producers were only willing to annually invest $140–188/ha in native pollination enhancements on their farms, justifying government support. Consumers are willing to pay ~6.7 times more to support native bees than producers, supporting market-based support for invertebrate conservation.

scholarly journals What Is the Value of Wild Bee Pollination for Wild Blueberries and Cranberries, and Who Values It?

Environments ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Hoshide ◽  
Francis Drummond ◽  
Thomas Stevens ◽  
Eric Venturini ◽  
Samuel Hanes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Research ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Invertebrate Conservation ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Perceived Values ◽  
Wild Blueberries ◽  
Wild Blueberry

Pollinator conservation efforts and growing interest in wild bee pollination have increased markedly in the last decade, making it increasingly important to have clear and practical estimates of the value of pollinators to agriculture. We used agricultural statistics, socio-economic producer surveys, and agronomic field research data to estimate traditional pollination value metrics and create novel approaches to the valuation of the ecosystem services provided by wild pollinators. Using two regionally important United States (USA) crops—Maine wild blueberry and Massachusetts cranberry—as models, we present the perceived values of wild bee pollinators from the perspectives of both consumers and producers. The net income attributable to wild bees was similar for wild blueberry ($613/ha) and cranberry ($689/ha). Marginal profit from incrementally adding more hives per ha was greater from stocking a third/fourth hive for cranberry ($6206/ha) than stocking a ninth/10th hive for wild blueberry ($556/ha), given the greater initial responsiveness of yield, revenue, and profit using rented honey bee hives in cranberry compared with wild blueberry. Both crops’ producers were willing to annually invest only $140–188/ha in wild pollination enhancements on their farms, justifying government financial support. Consumers are willing to pay ≈6.7 times more to support wild bees than producers, which indicates a potential source for market-based subsidies for invertebrate conservation.

Honey bee stocking numbers and wild blueberry production in Nova Scotia

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (7) ◽  
pp. 1305-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard J. Eaton ◽  
Vilis O. Nams
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Megachile Rotundata ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Wild Blueberries ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Wild Blueberry

Eaton, L. J. and Nams, V. O. 2012. Honey bee stocking numbers and wild blueberry production in Nova Scotia. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 1305–1310. Wild blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) require cross pollination by insects. Introduction of managed species such as honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and alfalfa leafcutting bees (Megachile rotundata Fabr.) is costly. We assessed the effects of stocking rates of honey bee hives and the interacting effects of the numbers of honey bees and other bees on yield of blueberries in commercial fields. Blueberry fields were sampled from 101 fields in years 1991 to 2010 in Nova Scotia. We recorded field size, numbers of beehives, yield, densities of bees, numbers of buds, blossoms and set fruit. Yields increased linearly with numbers of beehives, up to∼4 hives/hectare, but at higher stocking rates there was too much variation to adequately determine the effects. Yields also increased linearly with numbers of honey bees, but there was an interaction with other bees that decreased the effects of honey bees, such that at maximum densities of other bees, there was no effect of honey bees on yield. These results suggest that other bees and honey bees compete for pollination. If producers have limited numbers of beehives, we suggest that more should be placed in areas where densities of other bees are lower, up to approximately 4 hives/hectare.

scholarly journals Influence of Market Diversification on Farm Income Variability of Soybean Producers

1979 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-105
Author(s):  
B. R. Eddleman ◽  
J. E. Moya-Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Production Variability ◽  
Income Variability ◽  
Marketing Actions

Many decisions made by farm producers are based on expectations. The process of formulating and incorporating these expectations into decision making is difficult when high variability occurs in product prices, crop yields, production costs, or other factors affecting net income. Farm producers may be influenced by a number of goals in selecting combinations of crops to produce and marketing outlets for the crops. Two goals generally held to be important to farm decision makers are maximization of net income and net income stability. Given the price, yield, and cost of production variability characteristics of a farm enterprise and these two goals of farm decision makers, a fundamental problem is to determine what combination of alternative marketing actions can best satisfy the two objectives. A systematic examination of the relationship between the level of net income and net income variability for combinations of marketing alternatives would aid farmers in deciding on marketing actions to attain these goals.

Carabidae (Coleoptera) in Nova Scotia, Canada wild blueberry fields: prospects for biological control

2012 ◽  
Vol 144 (6) ◽  
pp. 779-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.C. Cutler ◽  
J.M. Renkema ◽  
C.G. Majka ◽  
J.M. Sproule
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Conservation Biological Control ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Wild Blueberries ◽  
Wild Blueberry

AbstractThe Carabidae (Coleoptera) are a diverse family of beetles with almost 300 species identified in Nova Scotia, Canada. Carabid beetle communities have been studied in several agricultural systems, but not wild blueberries, an important crop in eastern Canada. In the interest of potentially developing conservation biological control programs in wild blueberry, we collected Carabidae in crop (fruit-bearing) and sprout (vegetative) blueberry fields in Nova Scotia in order to assess species diversity and abundance over space and time. Over 3200 specimens were collected, representing 51 species. A large portion of collected specimens (39%) were nonnative, and the most abundant species were generally predacious and synanthropic. Species diversity tended to be higher near forest edges than further into fields, but not for all abundant species. Several of the most prominent predators showed significant differences in preference of crop versus sprout fields, distribution throughout fields, and seasonable abundance. These findings have implications for conservation biological control efforts with carabid beetles against several insect pests in wild blueberry.

scholarly journals Risk Management Strategies to Reduce Net Income Variability for Farmers

1985 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Falatoonzadeh ◽  
J. Richard Conner ◽  
Rulon D. Pope
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Combination Strategy ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Risk Management Strategies ◽  
Price Risks ◽  
The Many

AbstractThe most useful and practical strategy available for reducing variability of net farm income is ascertained. Of the many risk management tools presently available, five of the most commonly used are simultaneously incorporated in an empirically tested model. Quadratic programming provides the basis for decisionmaking in risk management wherein expected utility is assumed to be a function of the mean and variance of net income. Results demonstrate that farmers can reduce production and price risks when a combination strategy including a diversified crop production plan and participation in the futures market and the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) is implemented.

scholarly journals A Native Bee, Melissodes tepaneca (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Benefits Cotton Production

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac L. Esquivel ◽  
Robert N. Coulson ◽  
Michael J. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Native Bees ◽  
Cotton Production ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Weight Yield ◽  
Native Bee ◽  
Cotton Plants ◽  
Yield Gain ◽  
Plant Basis

The cotton agroecosystem is one of the most intensely managed, economically and culturally important cropping systems worldwide. Native pollinators are essential in providing pollination services to a diverse array of crops, including those which have the ability to self-pollinate. Cotton, which is autogamous, can potentially benefit from insect-mediated pollination services provided by native bees within the agroecosystem. Examined through two replicated experiments over two years, we hypothesized that native bees facilitated cross-pollination, which resulted in increased lint of harvested bolls produced by flowers exposed to bees and overall lint weight yield of the plant. Cotton bolls from flowers that were caged and exposed to bees, flowers that were hand-crossed, and bolls from flowers on uncaged plants exposed to pollinators had higher pre-gin weights and post-gin weights than bolls from flowers of caged plants excluded from pollinators. When cotton plants were caged with the local native bee Melissodes tepaneca, seed cotton weight was 0.8 g higher on average in 2018 and 1.18 g higher on average in 2019 than when cotton plants were excluded from bees. Cotton production gains from flowers exposed to M. tepaneca were similar when measuring lint and seed separately. Cotton flowers exposed over two weeks around the middle of the blooming period resulted in an overall yield gain of 12% to 15% on a whole plant basis and up to 24% from bolls produced from flowers exposed directly to M. tepaneca. This information complements cotton-mediated conservation benefits provided to native pollinators by substantiating native bee-mediated pollination services provided to the cotton agroecosystem.

scholarly journals Organic Establishment of Pollination Reservoirs in the Lowbush Blueberry (Ericales: Ericaceae) Agroecosystem

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 393-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Venturini ◽  
F. A. Drummond ◽  
A. K. Hoshide
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry ◽  
Native Bee ◽  
Wild Blueberries ◽  
Nurse Crops

Abstract Pollination reservoirs are pollen and nectar rich wildflower plantings intended to enhance pollination services in pollinator-dependent crops. Despite government assistance, plantings often fail to establish. Our focal crop, wild blueberries, is a unique cropping-system native to the U.S.A. It is never planted or cultivated, and typically exists in isolated fields within a mostly coniferous forest matrix. Our study takes place in Maine, U.S.A., where growers could economically benefit by switching reliance from rented honey bees to native bee pollination. Lowbush blueberry growers support wild bee enhancement efforts, but the low pH (4.0-5.0) of this agro-ecosystem presents unique challenges to wildflower establishment. We sought to identify methods that Organic certified growers can use to successfully establish pollination reservoirs in this system. We tested the effects of nurse crops and mowing on the success of a custom wildflower mixture over four years. Success was considered in terms of longevity, sown species diversity, above-ground biomass, and the number and weight of inflorescences. The authors present an economic analysis of cost versus projected planting longevity. In the fourth year of establishment, sown plant diversity significantly decreased, Solidago spp. weeds became dominant, and treatments were not a strong determinant of planting success. The economic analysis suggests that the high cost of pollination reservoir establishment may be a barrier to grower adoption. This study provides evidence and economic justification that weeds must be controlled prior to planting and represents one of the first studies to empirically test organic strategies for wildflower establishment in an agricultural context.

Native bees buffer the negative impact of climate warming on honey bee pollination of watermelon crops

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 3103-3110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina Rader ◽  
James Reilly ◽  
Ignasi Bartomeus ◽  
Rachael Winfree
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Native Bees ◽  
Bee Pollination

THE FIDELITY OF COMMERCIALLY REARED COLONIES OF BOMBUS IMPATIENS CRESSON (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) TO LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY IN SOUTHERN NEW BRUNSWICK

1996 ◽  
Vol 128 (5) ◽  
pp. 957-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy L. Whidden
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Crop Pollination ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry ◽  
Native Bee

Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait., V. myrtilloides Michx.) growers often use colonies of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) to supplement native bee populations for pollination. Native bee fauna is thought to be insufficient in number and too unpredictable, in terms of numbers, from year to year to be relied on for adequate crop pollination (Kevan and LaBerge 1978; Mackenzie and Winston 1984; Mohr and Kevan 1987; Kevan 1988; Eck 1988).

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