As planting and growing season continues across the country, stewardship remains one of the most important responsibilities for growers and applicators. In this episode of North American Ag Spotlight, host Chrissy Wozniak sits down with Mike Aerts, Vice President of Science and Regulatory Affairs at the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, to discuss the 2026 BeSure! Campaign and the role stewardship plays in protecting pollinators, wildlife, water quality, and agricultural productivity.
Mike explains how the BeSure! Campaign serves as a decision-support resource that encourages growers and applicators to follow best management practices while emphasizing a simple but critical message: read and follow the label. He discusses the extensive scientific research behind pesticide labels and why the phrase "the label is the law" remains one of the most important principles in crop protection.
The conversation explores the essential role pollinators play in agriculture, including their contribution to approximately one-third of the food we consume and more than 75% of the world's flowering plants. Mike also addresses common misconceptions surrounding pollinator health and explains how factors such as pests, diseases, habitat loss, weather events, and invasive species often have a greater impact on bee populations than many people realize.
Listeners will learn about stewardship practices for treated seed and foliar applications, the importance of proper equipment calibration, spray drift management, and the growing use of technology to improve application accuracy. Mike also shares insights into Florida's Managed Pollinator Protection Plan (MP3), a voluntary program that helps growers and beekeepers communicate effectively to protect pollinators while maintaining crop production.
The discussion also highlights a new concern for beekeepers across the United States—the invasive yellow-legged hornet—which has recently been detected in the Southeast and poses a significant threat to honey bee populations.
Throughout the episode, Mike emphasizes that food security depends on responsible crop protection practices and collaboration among growers, applicators, beekeepers, registrants, and regulators. The result is a practical conversation about how agriculture continues to improve stewardship while producing the food, fiber, and specialty crops consumers depend on every day.
To learn more about the BeSure! Campaign and access stewardship resources, visit GrowingMatters.org/BeSure.
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