OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Beekeepers in Iowa and Nebraska are joining a national movement to encourage farmers and gardeners to avoid new pesticides which kill bees and to promote the health of bees as integral to food production.

It’s just one priority of a group of beekeepers who hope to launch a public awareness campaign to save bees.

Clarence Seale, president of the Loess Hills Beekeepers Association, and beekeepers in Iowa and Nebraska hope to establish a nonprofit organization to raise money for a bee sanctuary and to spread awareness about the importance of bees to human life

Seale said people don’t realize how important bees are to food production.

The National Resources Defense Council says the U.S. could lose $15 billion in crops without bees to pollinate plants.