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Governor To Plant Some Pollinator Habitat On Family Farm

NPR

As Governor Dennis Daugaard reaches the waning months of his tenure, he says he’s growing an interest in pollinators.

While he might not be going full time into bee keeping, Daugaard says he is looking to convert around five to ten acres of farmland into pollinator habitat.

Daugaard says he met with a habitat advisor, who pointed out certain areas the family was losing money by farming.

“With precision ag and the combine maps that are available today—and especially as we’re pressured with the profitability margin being as skinny or nonexistent as it is today—how foolish it is when we’re losing money to farm land that makes us lose even more money," Daugaard says.

He says farming those areas can waste seed, fuel and fertilizer.

The announcement comes after a recent federal study finds many South Dakota wildland habitat that bees depend on has been transformed into ag land.

Bees and other pollinators play a vital role in agriculture. Daugaard says it’s estimated a third of the food and drink in the world is made possible by pollinators.