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<p class=MsoNormal>The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has awarded a matching Conservation
Innovation Grant (CIG) of $183,954 to the Pollinator Partnership, the Ohio
State University, and Grand Valley State University to evaluate and communicate
the ecological and economic costs and benefits of incorporating floral resource
strips into vegetable production systems. The project seeks to
demonstrate what pollinator habitat practices will work for vegetable
producers, how they will benefit and how pollinator habitat efforts can be
integrated into USDA conservation assistance and incentive programs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:red;background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow'><a
href="http://www.pollinator.org/pdfs/MediaReleaseP2CIGAward071709%20Final.pdf">Click
Here</a></span> for Media Release, or go to <a
href="http://www.pollinator.org/media.htm">http://www.pollinator.org/media.htm</a>
and open “NRCS Grant-Big Boost for Bees and Bugs in Agriculture.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Mary Gardiner, Assistant Professor of Entomology at the Ohio
State University will lead the research component of this project. The
goal of this type of habitat management is to enhance pollination and pest
control in adjacent crop fields. Several studies examining these strips
look promising, and the next step is to fully evaluate the costs and benefits
for growers of implementing this technology. <o:p></o:p></p>
<h2 align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal>The 3-year project managed by the Pollinator Partnership
focuses on producing realistic, economically sound guidelines for floral
resource schemes for vegetable growers, building on important lessons learned
from the Pollinator Partnership’s earlier pollinator research
efforts. Agricultural producers have stepped forward to provide project
sites on working farms. Gardiner will advise a MS student who will manage
a network of project sites in Ohio, Montana and Arizona. Dr. Stephen
Buchmann, adjunct associate professor at the University of Arizona, and author
of “The Forgotten Pollinators,” will supervise work in Arizona and
will coordinate with Dr. Gardiner. Economic analysis will be conducted by
Dr. Erik Nordman, Assistant Professor at Grand Valley State University in
Allendale, Michigan. Extension activities including workshops and field
days hosted within Ohio will be coordinated by OSU Extension Educator Brad Bergefurd.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>NRCS also awarded matching CIGs for important pollinator
habitat projects to The Xerces Society and the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation
District in Sonoma County, California. These Pollinator CIGs are examples
of the strong commitment by NRCS, under the leadership of Chief Dave White, to
fully implement the new conservation authorities for native and managed
pollinators in the 2008 farm bill.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>R. Thomas (Tom) Van Arsdall, Director of Public Affairs<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> Pollinator Partnership<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> O-(540) 899-3023<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> C-(703) 509-4746<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <a href="mailto:tva@pollinator.org">tva@pollinator.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <a href="http://www.pollinator.org/">Pollinator
Partnership</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <a href="http://www.nappc.org/">North American
Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC)</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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