U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack observed National Pollinator Week (NPW) in June with an official proclamation recognizing the importance of their role in the nation's food supply.
NPW is a week-long opportunity to acknowledge pollinator species such as bats, bees, birds, butterflies, moths, and other insects as "vital partners to our nation’s food system, economy, and ecosystem," Sec. Vilsack said in the June 17 NPW Proclamation. NPW was observed June 20-26, according to the proclamation.
"Healthy pollinator populations are critical to the continued ecological wellness of our agricultural system," Vilsack said in the statement, "as well as the economic prosperity of our farming and ranching communities."
The USDA reports there are more than 4,000 kinds of bees in the U.S., with honeybees being the country's main commercial pollinator. They and other pollinators collectively pollinate more than 100 commercial crops in the U.S., according to the statement. In addition to facilitating the reproduction of commercial food crops, pollinators are also integral to the health and biodiversity of forests and grasslands. USDA supports healthy pollinator populations with investments in conservation projects such as protecting pollinator habitats on both commercial and wild lands, the agency states.
"We can all do our part to protect pollinator species by incorporating pollinator-friendly practices," Vilsack said in the proclamation, "like growing pollinator-attractive flowering trees and plants at home, in community gardens, or installing pollinator habitats on farms."
Vilsack closed the proclamation by celebrating the "foundational role" pollinators play in the country's agriculture industry, natural areas and other ecosystems, the proclamation records.
"I, Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, do hereby recognize and support June 20-26, 2022, as National Pollinator Week," " Vilsack stated in the proclamation. "I call on the people of our great nation to join me in celebrating pollinators’ contributions to servicing and feeding our nation and the world."
