Beekeeper demonstrates passion for pollinators

Brian Frederickson uses terms like “pollinator amnesia” and “pollinator death zones” when he talks about the nature of Nature across the land and especially here in the Upper Midwest.

The Watertown area beekeeper, owner of Ames Farm, says people have forgotten or don’t know about the value of pollinators like bees and butterflies, and what they need to survive. He identifies pollinator death zones as vast expanses of corn and soybean fields, mowed and sprayed ditches one sees across the countryside, and the rapidly growing number of housing lots with chemically treated tightly trimmed lawns.

They all look nice, but they lack diverse plant species that pollinators need to thrive and survive. Meanwhile, remaining patches of prairie and meadow have become more disconnected, making it harder for pollinators to reach new breeding sites or find better habitat. On top of that are the types of chemicals in pesticides used to treat crops and landscapes, like neonicotinoids or neonics, which can disrupt entire bee colonies and whole insect populations.

In fact, bees, butterflies and other insects are disappearing at an alarming rate, notes Frederickson, a statement backed by scientific experts and other observers. Nearly 40 percent are on the brink of extinction and their odds for survival get worse every day — lost in less than a generation. In Minnesota, according to a Department of Natural of Resources bee survey, the number of bee species in counties across the state have declined considerably, especially in the southern and western portions, with at least two counties in the state where no bees were observed.

And have you seen many monarch butterflies this year? Those are at risk too despite recent attention, Frederickson said, and it will take more than a few milkweed plants to save them.

The situation becomes more alarming, Frederickson notes when one considers that 75 percent of our most nutritious food crops — produced into about one out of every three bites of our food — rely on bees and other pollinators.

Frederickson said he developed his passion for nature when he was young through his grandmother Verna who grew all her own food. Through their frequent foraging expeditions in the woods near her home, she sparked Brian’s lifelong curiosity and love of the land that led him to become a honey farmer.

Frederickson had a career with 3M in Hutchinson, but now devotes his time and passion to pollinators while operating a 40-acre honey farm with meadows, woodlands, and apiary with 400 bee hives at the farm and in 20 bee yards spread over central Minnesota. His beekeepers and small staff of workers produce, extract and bottle over a dozen varieties of high quality, raw single-source honeys.

The area bee farmer said he realized back in 1995 while tasting some early season honey that the honey bees make depends on the time of the season, location, and what plant, shrub or tree is in bloom. Today, Ames Farm is nationally recognized for producing single-source honey, defined as raw honey from one location, one hive and one time period.

The bee farm also produces edible honeycomb, a creamed honey spread, beeswax candles, other natural bee products. In addition, the operation provides hive rentals, bee keeping services, and sells bees.

At age 64, Frderickson said he now spends less time on day-to-day honey farm operations and more time advocating for pollinators.

He talks about the need to create a movement or an icon like Smokey the Bear who brought attention to wildfire prevention and forest protection. Maybe Rusty the Homeless Honey Bee to bring attention to the plight of the bee and encourage rural landowners to plant even 3 percent of their land — either a strip in a field or spot on a lawn in habitat for pollinators, such as native plantings, diverse and continuously flowering plants, milkweed, clovers, blooming shrubs and trees — even those despised dandelions. He is organizing a group of neighboring landowners to do just that, while also advocating at the state level for a credible pollinator restoration plan in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Frederickson applauds Carver County’s efforts in showing restraint when mowing roadway ditches, and the relatively new roundabout road project on County Road 24 that includes habitat for pollinators. He is also supportive of county pollinator programs like turf to native planting projects adopted by some cities, including Waconia, that establish public open spaces and rights-of-way more suitable to bees and other pollinators. That in turn translates into less public works time and costs to mow and maintain these areas while providing greater groundwater and surface water protection by absorbing runoff, and avoiding some water use for irrigation. Native plantings are generally more tolerant of drought conditions and stay greener longer.

The Carver Soil & Water Conservation District also has a pollinator conservation program that we have featured on these pages in the past, offering funding and guidance for landowners to convert landscapes into pollinator habitat.

“We have had 38 landowners participate in the program over the past six years, said Seth Ristow, landscape restoration specialist. “There have been some amazing projects planted and each year more people are interested in converting their landscapes into beautiful and useful habitat.”

“The solution to the pollinator problem is simple and not expensive to solve” Frederickson emphasizes, “but it’s on each one of us — each landowner to make it happen.”