Project Apis m. seeks a qualified seed supplier that can fulfill our planned seed orders for the 2023 cover crop planting season, June – December 2023 related to their sub-awarded USDA Climate-Smart Commodities Partnerships project. The selected contractor shall be responsible for providing the particular seed mixes and estimated quantities outlined below. Please read the complete RFP for supplier requirements and application instructions. 

Seed Mixes
Expected seed mixes include but are not limited to the following and contents may change on an as needed basis:
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• Pollinator Brassica - 20% Early Canola, 25% Daikon Radish, 20% Yellow Mustard, 20% White Mustard, 15% Oriental Mustard

 

• NitroBuilder – 65% Triticale, 25% Vetch, 10% Daikon Radish

 

• Perennial Carbon Mix 2 – 20% Tall Fescue, 20% Orchard Grass, 15% Siberian Wheatgrass, 15% Crested Wheatgrass, 10% Yellow Blossum Sweat Clover, 10% Alfalfa, 10% Falcata Alfalfa

 

• Annual Bee Clover – 17% Balansa Clover, 25% Persian Clover, 8% Rose Clover, 10% Crimson Clover, 25% Berseem Clover

 

• Pollinator Wildflower - 9% Lace Leaf Phacelia, 4.5% California Poppy, 1% Alyssum, 2% Birds Eye, 2% Globe Gilia, 0.5% Goldfields, 10% Wallflower, 10% Calendula, 3% Five Spot, 15% Baby’s Breath, 11% Chinese Forget-Me-Not, 15% Bachelor Buttons, 1% Yarrow, 6% Dwarf Sunflower, 6% Gum Plant, 1% Great Valley Phacelia, 3% Baby Blue Eyes

The seed provider should expect the majority of seed orders to be the Pollinator Brassica mix, with an estimated need of 16 tons in the first year. The estimated need for the Perennial Carbon Mix 2 is 4.5 tons, NitroBuilder is estimated at 8 tons, Annual Bee Clover is estimated at 5 tons, and Pollinator Wildflower is estimated at 0.5 ton in the first year.

Contractors will be selected based on how well they are able to meet the organization’s needs. Preference will be given to contractors with technical proposals that meet all requirements set forth in the RFP. Please review the complete RFP which includes application instructions. 

Project Apis m.’s next deadline for submitting proposals is June 1st. In addition to PAm’s long-standing research priorities, we are soliciting applications that will address emerging and potential issues for the industry. We hope to meet these challenges with creative, collaborative, robust responses from researchers.

Apply for Free Seed! Seeds for Bees program enrollment is now open in California and applications will be accepted until August 31st. Each year, we aim to plant more cover crop that is mutually beneficial for both growers and beekeepers. The 2022-2023 crop year brought challenges for beekeepers and growers as historic rains complicated the transport of bees and orchard management. These rains also highlighted one of the benefits of cover crops: water management. Established plantings were visibly helpful in abating standing water and reducing erosion.

Blueberries are native across North America and it seems like in as many regions as they grown, there are at least as many questions about what happens to honey bees when they pollinate this major cash crop.
 
Beekeepers weigh concerns about European foulbrood and fungicides and consider if the pollination fees are worth the potential for damage to their colonies. In some growing regions in Canada the government is helping boost rental fees because there aren’t enough colonies to meet demand.(1)

To provide answers for beekeepers over the years, Project Apis m. has funded several research projects with scientists studying the subject-beginning as long ago as 2008!(2)

The PAmily is growing with the addition of two new team members to the ‘field force’: Sara Brown and Stetcyn Maldonado.​