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The Delaware Department of Agriculture has announced that Delaware farmer Chuck Hurd has been chosen to receive the Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and the National Association of Conservation Districts. This award recognizes an individual or family in the farm and ranch community in the U.S. who has contributed significantly to pollinator species protection and conservation on working and wild lands.
Hurd, who farms Lister Acres in Harrington, was nominated for the award by Dr. Faith Kuehn, administrator of the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) Plant Industries Section, for his efforts on behalf of a long-term bee conservation project initiated by DDA and funded, in part, by Northeast Sustainable Research and Education. Among Hurd’s environmental best management practices and advocacy that contributes to pollinator conservation:
• In 2005 Chuck Hurd offered DDA use of an acre of his farm to plant a native wildflower meadow that he continues to maintain. DDA uses the “bee meadow” as a bee survey study site.
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In 2000, Hurd installed 14 acres of Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) filter strips. He maintains the filter strips and delays mowing until after most of the flowering plants have stopped blooming, thereby preserving season-long forage for pollinators. Natural plant community succession continues to introduce a number of native bee forage plants into the filter strips.
Hurd’s farming practices demonstrate a good understanding of pollinator conservation.
• Approximately 90 percent of the acreage in production is no till.
• He applies pesticides when absolutely necessary; however, he only applies insecticides after sunset to protect foraging bees from contact with the product.
• In land that is not in production or enrolled in the CREP program, he has installed buffers and has allowed natural seeding to introduce a number of bee forage plants.
• He maintains, relatively undisturbed, a large tract of forest along the southern boundary of the Lister Acres property. This diverse and mature stand of bottomland hardwoods provides ample nesting and foraging opportunities for insect pollinators from wood-nesting bees to butterflies.
• In addition to practices already in place, Hurd signed up for a farm assessment that is part of the department’s Farming for Native Bees project. The department is reviewing the farm’s land use and habitat structure, production practices, pesticide use and conservation philosophy. Based on the project’s recommendations, farmers will be asked to commit to a series of conservation improvements aimed at improving habitat and forage for native bees.
• He assisted DDA with installation of a butterfly garden on his property. Plants in the garden are primarily native plants, chosen to provide food and shelter for bees, butterflies and natural enemy insects.
• Due to his involvement with the DDA bee project, Hurd became interested in beekeeping. He attended training sessions offered by the Delaware Beekeepers Association, rescued a number of swarms and now maintains his own hives at Lister Acres.
• Hurd has helped to raise awareness of the need for pollinator conservation within the agricultural community.
• Following a workshop presentation highlighting Lister Acres’ bee friendly practices, 11 additional farmers expressed interest in participating in the Department’s bee project.
• In 2008, the Lister Acres model of an acre pollinator meadow was copied by a Maryland cucurbit farmer.
Hurd’s efforts and interest provided a catalyst for the Delaware Department of Agriculture to seek funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service for the publication of two booklets for farmers: Farm Management for Bees, a Guide for Delaware and Delaware Native Plants for Native Bees.
In recognition of Chuck Hurd’s award, Austin Short, acting secretary of agriculture said, “I congratulate Chuck Hurd on being chosen for this award and thank him for his pollinator conservation efforts. As a farmer and a forester, I fully understand the importance of pollinators. Seventy-five percent of the world’s flowering plant species rely on pollinators. One hundred and thirty of the crop plants grown in the United States are pollinated by bees. The rich biodiversity in our forests and other natural areas is dependent both directly and indirectly upon our native pollinators. Our food supply and our quality of life would be seriously impacted if we lost our pollinators.”
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