Two webex meetings and two in-person public consultation meetings took place in Ontario this week. At issue is the proposed increased regulation of neonicotinoid seed treatments for corn and soybean crops. Real Agriculture’s Bernard Tobin attended the London meeting on Tuesday (you can hear a recap of the event here), and spoke with Steve Klose,… Read More
The first public consultation meeting regarding impending neonicotinoid seed treatment regulations got underway yesterday in London, Ontario. Real Agriculture’s Ontario field editor Bernard Tobin was there to cover the event. The meeting format may have surprised some, as opportunities for individuals to speak were kept to a minimum. Instead, government officials from both the agriculture… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) have publicly asked its members not to attend next week’s government-hosted public consultation meetings. The meetings are slated for Tuesday in London, Ont., and Thursday in Toronto, to discuss the impending increased regulations required for access to neonicotinoid seed treatments. Barry Senft, CEO of GFO, says his organization feels there’s… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario has announced it will not participate in the Ontario government’s public consultation meetings being held in London, Toronto, and Kingston, beginning next week. The meetings are part of what the Ontario government is calling the consultation process on what final regulations regarding access to and use of neonicotinoid seed treatments will… Read More
When the Grain Farmers of Ontario rushed to create a new coalition of farm groups, known as Farm Action Now, there was a sense that legislation was in the works in which the government would steer away from evidence-based regulatory decisions, and instead pander to an environmental lobby that had a lot of scare factor… Read More
Last week, the Ontario government announced its plan of an “aspirational” goal of an 80% reduction in acres planted to corn and soybean seed treated with neonicotinoid seed treatments by 2017. What farmers need to know now is how they are expected to meet said goal, and what the stated increase in rules and regulations may… Read More
Yesterday, the Ontario premier’s office and the ministry of the environment and climate change revealed its plan to restrict the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments. The goal, referred to as “aspirational,” is to reduce the number of Ontario corn and soybean acres planted with the seed treatment by 80% by the year 2017. The details… Read More
The Ministries of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Environment and Climate Change announced today plans aimed at reducing by 80% the number of acres planted to corn and soybeans using neonicotinoid-treated seed by 2017, a level of reduction that equates to a de-facto ban, according to farm groups. The province says it will consult… Read More
A group of more than 30 organizations and agencies from across North America have formed a coalition to address concerns about honey bee health. The Canola Council of Canada, Canadian Honey Council and CropLife Canada are part of the Honey Bee Health Coalition which released a “Honey Bee Health Roadmap” last week. The document lays out… Read More
Two large honey producers in Ontario recently hired a law firm to launch a class-action lawsuit against Syngenta and Bayer (the parent of Bayer CropScience) regarding the sale of the companies’ nenonicotinoid seed treatments for corn and soybean. The beekeepers are seeking $450 million in damages and losses to bee hives and honey production dating… Read More
Kathleen Wynne, premier of Ontario, has rolled out mandate letters to each of the provincial departments. Of particular note on the agriculture file headed up by Jeff Leal, Wynne’s set priorities for the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, under the heading “Ensuring Sustainability of Agriculture,” states: Strengthening pollinator health. You will work… Read More
Commercial beekeeper Hugh Simpson believes farmers and beekeepers have to collaborate, communicate and co-operate to ensure Ontario’s bee population remains strong and healthy. Simpson is a founding member of the Independent Commercial Beekeepers Organization. The group was founded by like-minded beekeepers who make a living keeping bees as livestock based on economics, logic and practical… Read More
The law firm of Siskinds LLP, based at London, Ont., has launched a class action regarding neonicotinoid pesticides, specifically those containing imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiomethoxam, designed, developed, marketed and produced by Bayer (as Bayer CropScience) and Syngenta. The action, set in motion by Sun Parlor and Munro Honey, seeks in excess of $400 million in… Read More
Protecting honeybees and pollinators is a key focus for Ontario farmers. Limiting exposure of the bees to certain insecticides, namely neonicotinoid-based corn and soybean seed treatments, plays an important role in a thriving bee population in the province. Corn planter air exhaust has been identified as a possible risk to moving neonicotinoid particles off the… Read More
How did the bees do this spring planting season? Very well, says Tracey Baute, field crop entomologist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Likely attributed to several factors — a late planting season being one of them — Baute and her colleagues have kept a close eye on the Ontario bee… Read More
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