Ohio’s new program to keep bees safe from toxic pesticides

In Ohio, a new program will be implemented for farmers, beekeepers and sprayers who deal with chemical substances and pesticides, as well as other people involved with agriculture, to find currently active beehives and strike up communication. The Ohio Department of Agriculture is collaborating with FieldWatch (an organization dedicated to beehive registries, and the communication between sprayers and farmers about the locations of beehives as well as when spraying will transpire).

In a statement by Matt Biel, the chief of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, he said this new program has had continued success in numerous other states and “this technology is cutting-edge and will bring applicators and producers together to communicate their needs as we work toward our shared goal of the safe use of pesticides in our state,” according to a Dayton Daily News article.

Applicators must consider the location of where they spray as well as the toxicity levels of the pesticide and the potential harm it may cause to the bees, before chemicals can be applied.

The program will ultimately give beekeepers and other people involved with agriculture a chance to move bees to a secure place or to screen them in (if they know when chemical spraying times will occur), according to Terry Lieberman-Smith, the president of the Ohio State Beekeepers Association, found in the Dayton Daily News article.

There are multiple benefits for the beekeepers to keep their bees and land protected and for the farmers as well.