On pages 13-15 of the “Illinois Farm Bureau Partners” Summer 2022 issue, is an article that demonstrates how farming plays a vital role in promoting beneficial bees, butterflies, and more. Kim Hill contributed the article “The BUZZ about Pollinators.”
Notable Pollinator Statistics
- In 2017, Illinois established milkweed as the Official State Wildflower.
- Illinois counts 24 species of milkweed, most of which benefit butterflies.
- Seventy of the 100 species of crops are pollinated by bees.
- Bee-pollinated commodities account for $20 billion in annual United States agricultural production.
- Illinois farmers and other landowners enrolled more than 100,000 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program.
Hill wrote, “If you ate three bites of food today, thank a pollinator. Because of pollinators, we enjoy countless fruits, vegetables, and nuts–one of every three bites of food.
“Bees, birds, butterflies, beetles, and bats pollinate by traveling from plant to plant, carrying pollen on their bodies. This vital interaction allows the transfer of genetic material, critical to the reproductive system of many flowering plants.
“But these essential species face challenges from loss of habitat and disease. In recognition of National Pollinator Week, the last full week of June, we took a look at efforts, to promote pollinator populations in Illinois.”
Locally, Morrison Rotary Club initiated a future Pollinator Garden on W. Winfield Street, Morrison, IL. The idea began in 2021 with then-President Mick Welding; a Rotary Foundation grant was secured. The local organization must match the Foundation funds. Last year the ground was leveled.
This sign was erected in April. Although the ground is prepared, as of Saturday, May 28, 2022, seeding has not begun.
