Some Northern Paper Wasps built a nest in the open metal pipe that is part of the door entry to one of our high tunnels. For the most part, I was able to enter and depart the high tunnel without an issue, and I was hoping that we could make it through their normal reproductive cycle without taking any actions...
Over the last two decades, neonicotinoid pesticides, or neonics, have swiftly become the most widely used class of insecticides globally. And you’ve heard from PAN and our partners countless times about the dangers these chemicals pose to the wild pollinators and honeybees our food system relies on.We’ve also shared the complications with regulating neonics. They can be sprayed onto foliage...
I have been watching, on and off throughout the last few weeks, as one of our neighbors methodically removes all of the bushes and small trees that populate a fence line between their field and another neighbor’s field. One side of the fence has been planted to field corn every year since 2010, and the other alternates between corn and...
People have a tendency to think about bees and pollinators in the spring and summer - points in time when there is often an abundance of food choices for our pollinators. But now, as we enter the tail-end of the growing season, our attention is being drawn elsewhere. Even those of us that care about cultivating flowering plants are tempted...
Early this year, the Guardian reported that residents of Mead, Nebraska — a tiny town of 600 near Omaha — were getting sick, and also noticing livestock and bee fatalities. The cause? All signs point to AltEn, a neighboring ethanol plant found to be processing thousands of pounds of unused pesticide-treated corn seed from all across the country.Not your typical...
About the author: Rob Faux is PAN’s Communications Associate for Iowa, joining the organization in 2020. He has owned and operated the Genuine Faux Farm near Tripoli, Iowa with his spouse, Tammy, since 2004, growing produce and raising poultry for local sales. They are committed to sustainable growing practices and have maintained organic certification since 2007. In a former life,...