Bayer CropScience Second Annual Bee Care Tour Fosters Discussion and Awareness at Commodity Classic

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to further education and collaboration around pollinator health, Bayer CropScience will continue its second annual Bee Care Tour with a stop in San Antonio, Texas at Commodity Classic from Feb. 27 – March 1. The mobile tour is traveling coast-to-coast to create awareness of the vital role of honey bees in sustainable agriculture by establishing a dialogue with growers, beekeepers, researchers and students to discuss the multiple factors affecting honey bee health.

During its stop at Commodity Classic, the Tour will provide information to attendees through an interactive exhibit featuring two frames of honey bees in an observation hive, a best stewardship practices video and materials as well as quizzes to educate attendees on issues impacting pollination and bee health. Specifically, Tour displays focus on Bayer's Varroa mite research, new Bee Care Center and Fluency Agent trials and development. The exhibit also includes a honey tasting bar with several flavors of honey, including a local honey produced in San Antonio.

"Bayer strongly believes that awareness and collaboration are at the core of increasing support for pollinator health," said Becky Langer-Curry, manager of the North American Bee Care Program. "With grower and agribusiness representatives in attendance from across the nation, our Commodity Classic Bee Care Tour stop is a key opportunity to provide information on the vital role apiculture and honey bees play in sustainable agriculture and our food supply."

The Bee Care Tour has already stopped at Washington State University (Feb. 6), University of California, Davis (Feb. 12) and Oregon State University in Corvallis (Feb. 18). After Commodity Classic, the Tour will travel to South Dakota State University in Brookings (March 12); Purdue University in West Lafayette (March 20); and Washington, D.C. to celebrate National Pollinator Week (June 16-23).

The Bee Care Tour is part of Bayer's overall Bee Care Program, which brings Bayer's extensive experience and knowledge in pollinator health under one platform. Its Bee Care Program includes initiatives designed to further bee health research, engagement and discussion and bring Bayer's extensive experience and knowledge in bee health under one platform. Bee Care Program initiatives include:

• A new North American Bee Care Center, a state-of-the-art facility to advance honey bee research, education and collaboration, which opens in April 2014 at Bayer's Research Triangle Park, N.C. headquarters;
• Opening a new Bee Care Field Research Facility in Clayton, N.C., to support the research apiary and work in tandem with broad honey bee health initiatives;
• Training more than 300 employees as Bee Ambassadors, a field staff training campaign dedicated to cultivating dialogue and awareness around topics related to honey bee management and health; and
• Hosting employee, community and Congressional events to increase awareness of pollinator health, as part of National Pollinator Week, including the planting of a bee-friendly garden near Bayer's Kansas City facility.

You can also follow and share with us on Twitter @BayerBeeCare and Facebook at facebook.com/BayerBeeCareCenter. You can learn more about all of our stops at beecaretour.bayer.com.

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About Bayer CropScience

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 8,383 million (2012) and is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 20,800 (Dec 31, 2012) and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

SOURCE Bayer CropScience