The state’s bee populations has grown by more than 145 percent over the past in the last eight years and the Florida Department of Agriculture says that’s thanks, in part, to a partnership it sponsored between the bee keepers and citrus farmers.
The department works to provide bee keepers and farmers with information about best practices when it comes to things like pesticide use, which can have a big impact on hives. But spokesman Aaron Keller says the best thing about the partnership is that it helps both groups share new and innovative ideas.
“It was a great way to bring both of these groups together so they could be coordinate and strategize for the betterment of both,” Keller says.
Keller says bees are an important part of the state’s $120 billion agriculture industry and help to pollinate nearly 100 different varieties of fruits and vegetables in the state.
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