About BFF
Our Purpose
Bee Friendly Farming provides guidelines for farmers and gardeners to promote pollinator health on their lands. BFF sets standards for sustainable land management on important concepts like planting pollinator food resources, providing nesting habitat, and incorporating integrated pest management (IPM).
BFF recognises that pests can cause significant crop damage and loss that impacts food supply to a growing global population. The BFF program ensures crops can be protected using innovative methods underpinned by a strong consideration of possible harmful unintended consequences to bees and other pollinators. Such consideration must be applied to all crop protection options in order to improve overall environmental health through reducing the application of pesticides. IPM is an effective combination of a wide range of management methods with chemical control only used as a last resort and, when necessary, used in a way that minimises harm to pollinators.
Through BFF, farmers, gardeners, and private or corporate sponsors can be directly involved in providing resources necessary to support pollinators. By providing a low-cost membership program, farmers and gardeners can spend valuable time and money getting plants and seeds in the ground to support pollinators.
History
BFF commenced in the USA in 2008 and has been managed by Pollinator Partnership since 2013. The program was developed with the aim of working with growers to promote and provide pollinator habitat in agricultural landscapes.
By 2020, BFF had expanded to include over 800 farmers, wineries, home gardeners, apiarists and sponsors across North America and Canada, managing over 65,000 acres of certified land and including more than 20,000 acres of pollinator habitat.
Together with Pollinator Partnership, Wheen Bee Foundation established the Australian-based branch of BFF known as BFF Australia. Drawing from the BFF standard guidelines, BFF Australia is independently governed by an Australian BFF scientific taskforce to ensure the program is tailored to suit Australia’s specific ecosystem requirements.
