Jeff O’Connor sees a place for bees and beans in his Kankakee, Illinois, fields.
O’Connor grows corn, soybeans and wheat, and he has a hobby on the side that could benefit his farm and other farms in the area — he is a beekeeper.
About 10 years ago, O’Connor kept hearing from environmental groups that farmers were harming pollinators and that specifically beekeepers and farmers could not co-exist.
He is very aware of what he is doing when he is spraying his traditional crops so that it does not have a negative effect on his bees. O’Connor has CRP pollinator areas on his farm, and he said the NRCS has no problem with him putting bee hives in areas considered conservation ground.