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Ferreira said he began work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service more than 20 years ago to create hedgerows and has since taken advantage of funding offered through government programs to add more plantings. He said the efforts attract pollinators and other wildlife to the land and benefit his certified-organic mandarin crop. “Rich’s farm has many examples of pol- linator habitat—hedgerows, cover crops and native plants—that support pollina- tors and other beneficial insects, improve soil health and sequester carbon,” said Margaret Honig, Healthy Soils Project administrative lead for the California Bountiful Foundation, a nonprofit science, research and education organization af- filiated with the California Farm Bureau. “What stands out at Side Hill Citrus is Rich’s care for the land. He is fostering a reciprocal relationship that benefits the ecosystem and his citrus farm,” Honig said. Jessa Kay Cruz, senior pollinator con- servation specialist for the Xerces Society, a nonprofit group dedicated to conserving invertebrate species, said habitat created by farmers offer pollen and nectar, and sites for nesting and overwintering. “Loss of habitat is one of the biggest reasons (for declining pollinator popula- tions), so planting hedgerows, flowering plants and a pollinator garden will bring a lot of these species and their populations back up again,” she said. “In our agricultur- al systems, about one in every three bites of food we consume require insect polli- nation, and that includes a lot of our most nutrient-rich foods, a lot of our fruits and vegetables and, indirectly, alfalfa.” Increasing native plants, Cruz said, at- tracts beneficial insects that attack crop pests. This reduces pesticides, boosts soil health and prevents erosion, sequesters carbon and increases water infiltration. “Insects like lady beetles, parasitic wasps or lacewings—natural enemies of crop pests—will hunt down a lot of your crop pests,” Cruz said. “They’ll go after aphids, scale and mealybug, so whatever your pest problem is, there is another insect out there that will eat that pest.” When choosing where to plant native
At Side Hill Citrus in Placer County, visitors to the farm view a hedgerow of native plants that benefit pollinators as part of a workshop by the Xerces Society and Placer County Resource Conservation District held last week.
habitat, Cruz said, it is important to have an appropriate buffer between a crop that may be applied with pesticides and the habitat site. “The last thing you want to do is have all of these pollinators show up, and then the habitat gets contaminated,” she said. “For a conventional grower using a ground rig and moderate pesticides, the buffer recommendation is 40 to 60 feet. If using neonicotinoids, which are problem- atic for pollinators because the contamina- tion risk is much higher, you want to have a buffer of more than 100 feet,” Cruz said. “If you are spraying things that are not very harmful to insects with a backpack spray- er, which is more targeted, then the risk of drift is low, so you could have a buffer of 20 feet.” To help determine buffer distance, Cruz suggested farmers visit https://ipm.ucanr. edu/bee-precaution-pesticide-ratings/ for bee precaution pesticide rating in- formation by the University of California Integrated Pest Management program. Other aspects to consider, she said, in- clude ensuring there is plenty of sunlight, irrigation, soil quality, weed pressure and ease of management or accessibility. “People tend to want to site the hab- itat in the ugliest, most degraded corner of their property because that’s usually what is available because everything else is planted to crops,” Cruz said.
When selecting what to plant, Cruz rec- ommends a diversity of native plants that are adapted to the climate. She said trans- plants are easier to work with, but seeds may work better for a large planting. “You want to have something blooming from the early spring to the fall because dif- ferent pollinators have different life cycles,” Cruz said. “Think about plants for shelter, nesting and overwintering. Pithy-stemmed plants are great for our native pollinators, so things like elderberry and wild rose.” As a resource for farmers looking for na- tive plants, the Xerces Society contracts with nurseries to provide pesticide-free native plants that work for specific growing regions through its plant kit giveaway program. “In our work with farmers, we learned the biggest barriers to planting habitat is funding and knowing what to plant,” Cruz said, adding the largest kit is for a 500-foot hedgerow. “This is a way to get plant mate- rial to the people who want to use it.” Half of the 200 projects funded last year paid for habitat on working lands such as farms. The other half was for plantings on public lands such as schools and parks. Winegrape growers are the program’s No. 1 participant, Cruz said, followed by farmers of permanent crops such as nuts and fruits, and small farms. Brian Pimentel, agriculture program manager for the Placer County Resource Conservation District, described funding
opportunities for farmers interested in cre- ating pollinator habitat. Programs through Placer RCD, he said, include the Central Sierra Healthy Soils Program. The deadline to apply is June 15. The district also received funds through the Climate Resilience Through Restoration on California Lands Program. Funding to plant pollinator habitat is available through the state’s Health Soils Program and federally through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, he said. “If this is something that you are really interested in, there are financial resources out there to help you, plus education, such as workshops like this,” Pimentel said. To learn more about funding and pol- linator habitat programs, reach out to the Xerces Society at www.xerces.org or con- tact the local resource conservation district. Through the Healthy Soils Program, citrus growers in 11 counties can receive up to $200,000 to offset costs of conservation practices, including planting native plants and hedgerows to increase pollinators and soil health, through a $5 million grant administered by the California Bountiful Foundation. To learn more, visit californiabountifulfoundation.com and click on the Healthy Soils Program link. (Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)
For discount code, visit cfbf.com/discount-codes, call 1-800-698-3276 or contact your local Farm Bureau
16 Ag Alert April 3, 2024
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