Ministry of Environment has Agriculture in the Crosshairs, Says Grain Farmers of Ontario

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The Grain Farmers of Ontario are speaking up about concerns they have regarding the reach of Ontario’s ministry of environment.

It’s no secret that GFO disagrees with the province’s proposed regulations regarding the use of neonicotinoid corn and soybean seed treatments — regulations the producer group says equate to a de facto ban on the crop protection products.

But recent comments by Glen Murray, Ontario’s ministry of environment and climate change, has GFO asking what conventional agriculture process or product is next on the chopping block.

Kathleen Wynne’s environment minister is using bee health as nothing more than a cover for a much broader platform, says GFO, as evidenced by a recent quote by Murray at an Organic Council of Ontario meeting. Murray was quoted as saying “this new Class 12 category  (created for neonic-treated corn and soy seeds) is intended to deal with the family of neonicotinoids, and as it grows we can actually quickly move other (pesticides) in there.”

GFO also contends Murray “plans to go after other pesticide use, and promotes organic farming as one way to reduce climate change.

GFO’s chair Mark Brock spoke with RealAgriculture editor Lyndsey Smith about concerns the producer group has about the minister of environment’s reach, the lack of agricultural input into current regulations and the future of agriculture in Ontario.

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