Resources

Report by the Economic Research Service, Research Education and Economics (REE), March 2018

Since 2006, annual winter losses of managed honey bee colonies have averaged 28.7 percent, approximately double the historical winter mortality rate of 15.0 percent. These elevated losses have raised concerns that agricultural and food supply chains will suffer disruptions as pollination services become more costly and less available. This study rovides an overview of the pollination services market and the mechanisms by which beekeepers, farmers, and retail food producers adjust to increasing scarcity in the pollination services market. It also examines the empirical data on pollinated crop production, pollination service fees, and annual numbers of honey bee colonies.

Washington, DC, October 6, 2016 - Today, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the White House Rural Council, in collaboration with Federal agencies and private-sector stakeholders, is announcing new efforts to expand and diversify the U.S. agriculture workforce.

Here REE presents a roadmap for critical social goals that can best be championed--conducted, overseen, competitively awarded, and/or transferred--by USDA and its partners.

The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.

For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended, and as static images for those with slower Internet access. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.

No posters of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map have been printed. But state, regional, and national images of the map can be downloaded and printed in a variety of sizes and resolutions.