The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is encouraging collaboration among commercial specialty crop growers, pesticide applicators and beekeepers to protect sensitive crops and pollinators.
The department is recommending Nebraskans in these fields use FieldWatch, an online mapping service that the department monitors.
According to a news release from the department, specialty crops such as fruits and vegetables and key pollinators are sensitive to pesticides. This includes some herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
Commercial apiary sites, vineyards, orchards, grow sites for fruits and vegetables, nursery and Christmas tree production sites and certified organic and transitional organic crops are included in FieldWatch.
The department states that 757 growers have registered 2,173 specialty crops and apiary sites across 84 of Nebraska’s 93 counties. That’s approximately 124,000 acres of specialty crops.
“Nebraska farmers are innovative and find ways to increase productivity while protecting sensitive crops and pollinators,” Sherry Vinton, director of the Department of Agriculture, stated in the news release.
Source: nebraskaexaminer.com
Categories: Nebraska, Crops, Government & Policy