Farmers across Australia are taking steps to protect bees and other pollinators thanks to a program supporting farmers in implementing bee-friendly practices.

In 2021, the Wheen Bee Foundation introduced Bee Friendly Farming in Australia encouraging farmers and land managers to adopt simple, science-backed practices to enhance pollinator health on their properties.

Australian agriculture is highly dependent on bees and other pollinators, with at least 53 crops depending to some degree on bees for pollination.

Wheen Bee Foundation CEO Fiona Chambers says the Bee Friendly Farming program works with land managers to enhance both pollinator health and the potential for their land.

“Protecting bees and other pollinators is not just about supporting insects, it’s good for business,” Ms Chambers said.

The almond industry, which relies on bees for 100 per cent of its production, was quick to embrace the program.

Recently, as threats to bees have increased in Australia, attention has shifted to other agricultural sectors that depend on pollinators including avocados, apples, pears, berries, oilseeds, vegetable seeds, and macadamias, all of which are encouraged to adopt bee-friendly practices.

Macadamia Farm Management is one of Australia’s largest macadamia farming organisations, managing 5,000 hectares of macadamia orchards across over 60 properties throughout Queensland.

For Macadamia Farm Management Horticulturist Dr Chris Cannizzaro joining the Farming Program was an obvious decision.

“Trees go hand-in-hand with bees,” Dr Cannizzaro said.

“Most of my research has been centred around the interactions between bees and trees, and it’s been exciting to apply my research background to new challenges in macadamia pollination, crop protection and cultivation.”

In one of the properties MFM mange in Gin Gin Queensland Australia in Queensland’s Bundaberg region, the orchard covers about 350 hectares, with more than 100,000 macadamia trees ranging from two to five years old. Pollination takes place from September through to October.

“Each year we bring in about two to five honey bee hives per hectare,” Dr Cannizzaro says. “It’s normally about two hives per hectare for the younger trees, but as they mature, they put on more flowers and require more bees for better pollination.”

MFM also incorporates its own managed native stingless bee hives to boost pollination. And then there’s the feral honey bees and native bees which are in abundance on the farm, thanks to careful Integrated Pest Management.

This diversified approach to pollination is part of Dr Cannizzaro’s goal to improve yield and productivity and reduce pollination risks.

Wheen Bee Foundation CEO Fiona Chambers says Bee Friendly Farming Certification is a simple way to inform beekeepers that, as a certified Bee Friendly Farm, the farm management team places a priority on bees.

“This is becoming more important as the demand for bees increases and beekeepers become more selective about where they send their hives for pollination.” Ms Chambers said.

Since Bee Friendly Farming launched in 2021, more than 36,000 hectares of farmland have been certified and the program aims to increase the area of certified farmland nationally to 100,000 hectares by mid 2025.

The Wheen Bee Foundation launched the Bee Friendly Farming program with a $50,000 sponsorship from Founding Platinum partner, Flow Hive and more recently received $460,000 to expand the program to strengthen the drought resilience of Australia’s pollinator-dependent crops.

To learn more about the Bee Friendly Farming program visit beefriendlyfarming.org.au