Bee Friendly Farming
Pollinators are an indispensable natural resource in agriculture and healthy ecosystems. Farmers and beekeepers are on the front line in playing a critical role for their survival.
About - What is Bee Friendly Farming?
Bee Friendly Farming (BFF) is a program that provides guidelines for farmers and growers interested in promoting pollinator health on their lands.
Read a recent article on a featured Bee Friendly Farmer.
What is the Criteria to be Bee Friendly Farming certified?
1. Offer forage providing good nutrition for bees on 3-6% of land.
2. Plant continuous bloom of different flowering plants throughout the growing season, especially in early spring and late autumn in temperate regions.
3. Offer clean water for bees.
4. Provide a variety of habitat for nesting and mating, through features such as hedgerows, natural brush, or bufferstrips.
5. Practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM); reduce or eliminate the use of chemicals.
6. Pay the annual $35 certification fee.
Once qualified, your location is pinned on a map and you are then able to use the BFF logo to indicate that your products or services are produced on lands that promote pollinator health. Signs may be purchased for your farm. Additionally, parts of the affordable annual fees collected are returned to members in the form of mini-grants for pollinator plantings.
What can you do?
1. Plant for pollinators - Get a free planting guide specific to your ecoregion
2. Certify your farm
3. Share your story with us
4. Donate to support and expand the program
History
Bee Friendly Farming is an online, self-certification program created by Kathy Kellison and other experts (Sam Droege, Mace Vaughn, Dennis vanEnglesdorp, Marla Spivak, Randy Oliver, Robbin Thorp, Karen Strickler, Gerry Miller, Jeff Anderson, Phil Giles, and Gene Brandi).Bee Friendly Farming was also known as Partners for Sustainable Pollination (PFSP) and has now merged with Pollinator Partnership. The two organizations entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2013 to create the BFF-S.H.A.R.E. (Simply Have Areas Reserved for the Environment) partnership. This was a great step forward for the BFF program as those who enroll in the S.H.A.R.E. program will also now be made aware of the option of further recognition through certification as a Bee Friendly Farm or Garden.
The Bee Friendly Farmer Store
Sign
Your very own Certified Bee Friendly Garden metal sign can be yours to proudly display on your property, once you are BFF-certified. $45 each
Click image to enlarge.
Stickers
Suggested uses: add as label to/on your food or honey products, put on shirts or hands of visitors to your booth, store or event.
Bookmarks
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Brochure
Click the image to download or view
Certification Renewal
Keeping your certification current helps us to aid in cost-share efforts by growers to plant additional bee forage. $35
Get BFF Certified
Would you like to make your SHARE site Bee Friendly Farmer Certified?
With a donation of $35 USD annual certification fee is tax-deductible for U.S. participants. If you are Canadian, be sure to read the Tax-Related Information for Canadians document. Your generous contribution will be used to help cost-share efforts by growers to plant additional bee forage.
Would you like to become Bee Friendly Farmer Certified?
Donate to the Bee Friendly Farming Program
Bee Friendly Farmers (BFF) works with farmers and beekeepers to improve the health of honey bees and support native pollinators. BFF fosters awareness and support for providing increased availability of flowering plants to honey bees and native pollinators. Donate to the Bee Friendly Farmer program below.
The Bee Friendly Farmer Center
