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May 13, 2025
By Jody Shee
While pollinators aren’t the main attraction in soybean fields, they support biodiversity and farm health. Many farmers, including two ASA board members, actively incorporate bees and butterflies with pollinator-friendly practices for smarter, sustainable farming. These directors share their experiences.
Brandon Wipf on his South Dakota farm.
Brandon R. Wipf, a Huron, South Dakota, soybean farmer and member of ASA’s Conservation and Precision Agriculture Advocacy Team, believes that supporting pollinators is simply good stewardship. As he works the family farm, he keeps in mind that “nature gives us a livelihood. And we owe it, in return, to be quite thoughtful about what we take and how we take it,” he says.
That starts with not harvesting every square inch. “When I mow ditches and come across milkweed, I leave it because it’s the only plant where monarchs lay eggs. We’ve been doing that for 10 years,” he says. He also avoids cutting 100% of his alfalfa and grass fields, ensuring flowering plants remain for pollinators. “I want to leave a refuge for all of the different wildlife that’s out there because it’s all part of a system.”
In June, he is slated to speak at the 2025 North American Monarch Summit as ASA’s liaison to Farmers for Monarchs. He’s titling his presentation “My Curves Are Beautiful” to highlight how natural land contours can guide sustainable farming decisions.
Wipf acknowledges the potential regulatory challenges ahead if monarchs are listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is a very real possibility. But he remains hopeful. “We're doing everything we can to keep those monarch numbers up, at least on our estate, and hopefully demonstrating that it can go hand-in-hand with higher profitability.”
ASA board member Andrew Moore vividly remembers when his interest in monarch butterflies first took flight. He was just nine years old when researchers set up a mobile satellite station on the edge of his family’s 6,500-acre farm in Resaca, Georgia. “They tracked the migratory movements of monarchs for months,” he recalls. “And that did pique my interest in monarchs.”
Andrew Moore maintains four beehives on his family farm in Georgia.
His interest in pollinators remains strong. Today, the family farm maintains four beehives—more of a hobby than a business, Moore says. In the Southeast, canola is an early-season, complementary crop to soybeans on his farm and is an ideal pollinator habitat. It’s so beneficial that he invites commercial beekeepers to place hives near his canola fields to keep their bees active as they travel cross country from California’s almond orchards.
Moore also participates in the Honey Bee Health Coalition, supporting pollinator education and habitat development. Through a local school program, he helps provide seed for pollinator plots and brings the farmers’ perspective to the classroom.
His passion for pollinators came full circle when his son—now in eighth grade—raised monarchs as part of a third-grade school monarch program. He helped the class grow little monarchs on milkweed and hosted several annual class field trips to the farm.
Moore believes the pollinator conversation will only continue to grow, as agriculture and pollinators share a lasting, symbiotic relationship.
