11/04/2023 SOURCE: www.usgs.gov

Why are pollinating bats, birds, bees, butterflies, and other animals important? | U.S. Geological Survey

Do you enjoy a hot cup of coffee, a juicy peach, an-apple-a-day, almonds, rich and creamy dates, a handful of plump cashews, or vine-ripened tomatoes? Do you enjoy seeing the native flowers and plants that surround you? If so, you depend on pollinators. Wherever flowering plants flourish, pollinating bees, birds, butterflies, bats and other animals are hard at work, providing vital but often-unnoticed services. About three-fourths of all native plants in the world require pollination by an animal, most often an insect, and most often a native bee. Pollinators are also responsible for one in every three bites of food you take, and increase our nation’s crop values each year by more than 15 billion dollars. Loss of pollinators threatens agricultural production, the maintenance of natural plant communities, and the important services provided by those ecosystems, such as carbon ...

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Matt Brechwald is the world's most prolific agricultural podcaster. Consistently podcasting since 2014 Matt has hosted well over 1,000 podcasts about agriculture and conducted hundreds of radio interviews as well. From his farm in Kuna, Idaho, Matt has developed the term "Off-Farm Income" into a multi-national brand.