The “Bayer’s Perspective on Innovation 2014” international press forum held in Leverkusen, Germany, was the venue for the launch of the company’s first bee health magazine, “BEENOW”. The magazine presents Bayer’s efforts to unite partners from around the world, including research institutes and universities, beekeepers, farmers and industry partners, to jointly tackle the various challenges bees are facing.

“The diversity of factors affecting bee health precludes one simple solution for all,” says Annette Schuermann, Head of the Bayer Bee Care Center. “We are working on numerous fronts to reduce the effects of some of the major contributing factors, such as the Varroa mite.”

Bayer is committed to improving bee health as the company understands that pollination matters and not only for the supply of high-quality, affordable food across the planet. Bayer sees sustaining pollination services as the shared responsibility of a broad range of stakeholders and is actively contributing to achieve this objective. 

“Have you ever wondered what Bayer is doing for bees? I am confident that our new magazine will provide more people with surprising information on how we explore opportunities to really make a difference to the health of bees and other pollinators. For us, it’s amazing to see what can be achieved when different parties are working together,” adds Schuermann.

The current issue of the BEENOW magazine includes interviews with leading scientists from research institutes such as the University of Freiburg in Germany, Wageningen University in the Netherlands and the University of Guelph in Canada, all of whom are involved in the projects featured on the cover page. Additional articles cover the many partnerships that Bayer has been involved in.

The magazine will be complemented by supplementary material, such as videos and useful links that can all be found online at www.beenow.bayer.com. Regular updates about further projects that we are involved with will also be added throughout next year. 

The first issue of the magazine, which can be downloaded and ordered at www.beecare.bayer.com, is currently available in English and German. The next edition will be published at the end of 2015.