If agriculture wants to reduce the potential impact neonicotinoid seed treatments have on pollinators, it has to modify standard vacuum planters. That’s the verdict from Ridgetown College, University of Guelph researcher Dr. Art Schaafsma. “Essentially, what we’ve created is a drift problem,” says Schaafsma, who spoke publicly about his research for the first time last… Read More
Category: Bees
61% of Canadians have a “very or somewhat” positive impression of Canadian agriculture according to a new national survey released by Farm and Food Care (FFC) and the newly minted Canadian Centre For Food Integrity. That’s the highest ranking Canadians have given farming since FFC started asking Canadians for their impression of the industry 10… Read More
Imagine finding a plate-sized tick on your person. That’s the rather disturbing — and epic — analogy Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs gives to offer a visual understanding of the size of a varroa mite compared to its host, the beloved bee. Though not a tick, Varroa destructor are of the class Arachnida, (along with… Read More
“The world’s bee population is in crisis and Honey Nut Cheerios is coming to the rescue, minus its perky mascot.” — Toronto Star, March 15, 2016 Move over Kathleen Wynne and Glen Murray. There’s a new saviour of bees in town. General Mills Canada announced last week “Buzz” the honeybee will disappear from its Honey… Read More
Regulatory restrictions are not on the radar in Manitoba, but the province’s agriculture entomologist suggests farmers in Western Canada should ask themselves “why?” before using neonicotinoid seed treatments. The Ontario and Quebec governments are restricting the use of insecticide-treated seed in response to concerns about neonics hurting bee health, but there haven’t been the same problems with pollinator populations… Read More
A recent spurt of colder weather in Ontario is bad news for pests and good news for farmers, says OMAFRA Field Entomologist Tracey Baute. “It makes entomologists a little nervous, especially when we don’t see winter arriving until mid January,” says Baute who’s concerned that the warm fall and late-arriving winter of 2016 will mean… Read More
After implementing restrictions on the use of corn and soybean seed treatments last summer, the Ontario government is now seeking public feedback on a “Pollinator Health Action Plan.” The plan is seen as the third component in the province’s pollinator health strategy, with the other two pillars being restrictions on neonicotinoid seed treatments and the… Read More
Grain Farmers of Ontario is heading back to court to fight another round in its court battle to contest the province’s new seed treatment regulations. GFO will be in court on March 9th. “We are pleased that the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to hear our case and to move quickly on the issue,” GFO… Read More
It’s been a good news week for Grain Farmers of Ontario chair Mark Brock. But he’s unsure how positive reports on the impacts neonicotinoid seed treatments have on pollinators will affect provincial grain farmers. Earlier this week, reports from Health Canada and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) delivered a one-two punch supporting the embattled… Read More
Ontario Grain Farmers lost the first round of its court battle to contest the province’s new seed treatment regulations, but the fight will continue. “At the end of the day this has always been a fight on principle,” says GFO Chair Mark Brock. “I don’t think we want to tuck tail and run because we got… Read More
“It’s a true lesson for all of agriculture,” says Peter Johnson in this week’s special edition of Wheat Pete’s Word. “When we start throwing stones at each other, all we do is a disservice to the whole industry…” In this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson catches us all up to speed on… Read More
What crop and seed mixes could farmers plant to make their farms more bee-friendly? That’s a question Bayer CropScience and Pollinator Partnership are trying to answer with a study aiming to give farmers recommendations on what they can do to improve bee habitat on their farms. Vicki Wojcik, research director for Pollinator Partnership, a non-profit… Read More