IFCA and other interest groups are working with the Illinois Department of Agriculture as IDA prepares a voluntary plan to protect pollinators in Illinois and improve pollinator habitat.  Good communication between hive owners, farmers and pesticide applicators is essential to protecting bees.  Fieldwatch, which is the program that houses both Driftwatch and BeeCheck, is a free, on-line tool that allows pesticide applicators to register anonomously on the site and receive an email notification of hives and specialty crops in the territory you designate in the program. 

 

IDA works closely with Illinois hive owners to keep the BeeCheck portion of the site up-to-date, and specialty growers are using the Driftwatch area of the site to help identify their crops which are sensitive to some herbicide applications.  Go to www.Fieldwatch.com to learn more.  This site has improved significantly since it was first launched in Illinois back in 2011 and Fieldwatch is governed by a Board of Directors that includes KJ Johnson from IFCA.  If you have any questions about using Fieldwatch, please call IFCA.  The voluntary use of programs like Fieldwatch are significant in our efforts to assure good pesticide use policy, stewardship and communication among pesticide applicators, hive owners and specialty crop sites.