World's Biggest Bee Pollination Event Taking Place In The Central Valley

There are about 500,000 resident honey bee hives in California.

Right now more than a million more hives from throughout the country have been brought into the Central Valley to pollinate the almond orchards.

For the bees almond blossoms are a major food source. But before and after the blooming period, forage to feed the bees can be scarce.

Bob Curtis from the Almond Board of California says growers are signing up to plant the seeds of blooming crops near orchards as food to keep the bees from starving. 

"We understand what we do here and now does impact what I would call a chain of events in the health of the bees throughout the year and therefore the bees that come back to us the next year."

Curtis says the seed planting scheduled for the fall will be a demonstration project.

For growers healthy bees can mean a bigger, better almond crop.