Who doesn’t enjoy seeing native wildflowers in good habitat on a farm, huh? I know I do! I am so wild about wildflowers (forbs) that I have planted a number of applicable varieties on our 148 year-old southeastern Nebraska farm in our Conservation Reserve Program acres.
I am proud of the pollinator habitat we have established. Here it is at work!
According to the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), pollinators play a crucial role in the reproduction of many plants, including many of the plants that provide our nation’s food, fiber, fuel and medicine. Animal pollinators, especially honey bees, are critical for producing of our food products. An estimated one out of every three bites of food comes to us through the work of animal pollinators! But despite their value, many pollinator species are in trouble. In an effort to fight population declines, the NRCS and many other entities, including the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, are working with private landowners like us in the Wagner Family to establish habitat for pollinators through conservation practices on our farms.
I thought I’d share some more photos I took this week of these various wildflowers with you. See how many you can identify. The answers are below the last pic.
ANSWERS: Photo #1 = Black-eyed Susan. Photo #2 = Purple Coneflower. Photo #3 = Grayhead Coneflower. Photo #4 = Wild Bergamot.
How did do you do? Get any right? Hopefully you learned a bit more about wildflowers and how important they are in today’s world. Special thanks to Eric Zach in our Game and Parks Wildlife Division for assistance with this blog post.