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Berry grower proud of sustainability efforts as Earth Day approaches
California Giant Berry Farms is celebrating this Earth Day, although for the growers and staff, every day is Earth Day. As a company, California Giant is proud of its sustainability efforts around Sustainably Grown, Bee Better and TRUE Zero Waste certifications.
“We have always been focused on having a sustainable business that cares for the environment and the hardworking people that make it possible. We support our grower-partners in their efforts to farm for the future and set that path with the company’s three-pillar approach to sustainability: People, Planet and Profit,” said Eric Valenzuela, director of food safety and sustainability for California Giant.
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The monarch is nectaring on showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), which is the most widespread milkweed in Utah. The other insects are a bumble bee (it looks like the brown-belted bumble bee) and a potter wasp; both occur in Utah.
Credit U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Insects have a reputation for “bugging” us humans with their bites, stings and incessant buzzing. While we may wish they would just go away, researchers have concerns about declining “bug biomass” and how it could impact us.
We know a lot about dinosaurs and the earth they lived in from studying fossils. Insects have been around even longer showing up with land plants and outlasting dinosaurs through five mass extinctions.
Bee Better Certified Vineyards
News Reporter With California Ag Today, I’m Tim Hammerich.
Some California winegrape growers looking to improve the environment and differentiate their products are looking to a lesser known certification: Bee Better Certified. Offered by the Xerces Society, the certification program is open to all crops, says senior pollinator conservation specialist Jessa Kay Cruz.
Cruz… “I think not surprisingly like each cropping system has some challenges and limitations in order to become Bee Better Certified. So this particular project is funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).”
The project Cruz is referring to there involves certifying vineyards. The hope is this will lead to more bee habitat, and Bee Better Certified wine.
Bees are a lifeline for farms producing the worldâs fruits, vegetables, nuts and other nutrient-rich foods. Bees pollinate billions of dollarsâ worth of crops and play an essential role in our food supply. Pollinators are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat and contribute more than $15 billion to our nationâs crop values each year.
But these days, we donât see as many bees. Thatâs because they are dying at an increasing rate, making the future of our food security uncertain. Their plight is hardly a secret, and increasingly concerned citizens are responding with meaningful solutions.