Healthy bees are crucial to Central Valley almond production

California’s almond bloom is on full display. As one of nature’s most fascinating pollination events, this often attracts attention from around the globe. As CEO of the world’s leading almond grower cooperative, I would like to highlight the crucial relationship between almond growers and our key partners in production: honey bees.

The future of our member-growers, the vast majority of whom are multi-generational family farmers, and the vitality of their orchards depend on a healthy pollinator population. We work in partnership with beekeepers and their bees in a close-knit, symbiotic relationship of mutual respect.

One-third of global food production relies on pollinators of some type. California’s almond farmers feel an additional sense of responsibility for ensuring honey bee health because almond trees are the first to flower each year, and the first of many crops that bees see and pollinate after their winter dormancy.

Almond pollen provides critical nutrition, with 25% protein and all 10 of the amino acids the bees’ diets require. In fact, research shows that after visiting the almond orchards during bloom each February, bee colonies leave stronger with an increased population of bees, directly benefiting the growing process for many other crops throughout the nation.

At a time when consumers are adopting plant-based diets like never before, the demand for nutritious almonds and almond-based products is at an all-time high. Our growers are more committed than ever to the long-term health of the orchard ecosystem and to providing a sustainable habitat for bees.

The 3,000 members of the Blue Diamond Growers cooperative recognize the critical importance of honey bees to the environment, and we accept our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure their robust longevity.

Over the last 20 years, Blue Diamond and the almond industry have contributed to the millions of dollars for honey bee health research efforts managed by the Almond Board of California (ABC). We encourage our growers to work closely with their beekeepers following the ABC’s Honey Bee Best Management Practices.

Blue Diamond also has cultivated partnerships with Project Apis M (PAm), a non-profit dedicated to research to enhance honey bee health and vitality, and with the Pollinator Partnership, an organization promoting and advocating for honey bee health and conservation. We support our growers’ implementation of PAm’s Seeds for Bees and Blue Diamond’s Water for Bees programs, developed under the guidance of Apis M, to ensure bees have proper nutrition and hydration throughout the bloom lifecycle.

So next time you reach for an almond to snack on, or pour almond milk in your cereal, rest assured that the growers behind these products remain completely committed to not only providing the best product possible, but also improving the lives of our honey bees.