Our Goal: To ensure that the bees that pollinate our crops are healthy and happy.
Our California orchards are certified Bee-Friendly Farmed by the Pollinator Partnership. We also work closely with the California Pollinator Coalition, an organization dedicated to the resilience of native and managed bees, biodiversity and soil health.
Bee-Friendly Farming
As one of the world’s largest almond growers, we know that we have tremendous responsibility to ensure the health and wellbeing of all of our pollinators, especially the honeybee.
Pomona currently dedicates over 3,300 acres (1,400 ha) to providing forage for bees and other pollinators and have planted more than 40 different varieties of plants that bees love, with bloom cycles staged throughout the year. We work hard to keep our pollinators healthy with our bee-friendly farming practices, preventing colony loss by continually reducing our pesticide and herbicide usage. These extra steps mean that Pomona’s hives, on average, triple in size after one year with with us.
Crucial Beekeeper Partnerships
Our relationships are limited to just a handful of large, experienced beekeepers. These professionals minimize travel with their hives and ensure hive health, proper nesting, extended rest periods, shelter and hydration during almond bloom. We facilitate third-party audits of our beekeeper management practices and stay in constant communication so that we are able to provide the best possible habitats and care for bees.
Bee ‘Housing’ Plus Strategic Hive Placement
Pomona hosts nearly 750 honeybee hives at 3 Bee Sanctuaries over the winter, and we are expanding Sanctuary acreage to support an additional 850 hives by early 2023. Each Sanctuary boasts warm weather, plentiful water and several hundred contiguous acres full of flowers and forage. Early and thoughtful hive placement prior to bloom helps with bee acclimatization, which is especially important for those colonies newly arriving in California just out of hibernation.
Responsible Agricultural Application Processes
We never utilize any spray applications during bee flight hours. We minimize spray applications during the entire bloom period, but if they are necessary, they only occur when the bees are dormant between dusk and dawn. We never use neonicotinoids or chlorpyrifos (two pesticides that are harmful to bees). Additionally, Pomona employs the latest technologies and practices related to pest and weed management, significantly reducing the use of pesticides and herbicides overall.
