Citing the need to review new research, Health Canada is delaying the final decision on outdoor uses of all three neonicotinoid insecticides, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, and imidacloprid. While neonics originally came under scrutiny for their apparent risk to honeybees and other pollinator species, Health Canada’s review findings, announced in early 2019, found only certain instances where… Read More
Is 2019 the year of the weird? Maybe, says host Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson in this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word. From planting conditions, to strange looking plants, and on to excessive and strange insect and creepy crawlies — this growing season is nothing short of odd. Johnson tackles what’s going on with things like… Read More
A new seed treatment for protection against early season pests of canola will be available from Syngenta next season. The company announced the approval of its Fortenza Advanced label this week that combines two seed-applied insecticides in one product, and is an alternative to neonicotinoid seed treatments. The product offers protection from both striped and… Read More
It’s not often a company opens the doors to its multi-million dollar seed research centre, so when you get the chance for a tour, you take it. Last month, Syngenta held its media summit which wrapped up by taking both Canadian and American agricultural journalists on a trip to Stanton, Minnesota, to check out their… Read More
Nearly 50 scientists and regulators with Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) hopped on a pair of buses a few weeks ago and spent a day in the field 45 minutes from Ottawa learning about how the crop protection products they regulate are used by farmers. The first-ever PMRA field day, held on a farm… Read More
Health Canada has proposed banning two of the most commonly used neonicotinoid insecticides (neonics) used in Canadian agriculture in the next three to five years following a review of their impact on aquatic insect species. The proposal published on Wednesday would end outdoor agricultural and turf uses for clothianidin, and all outdoor agricultural and ornamental uses… Read More
The Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA) welcomed their new president, Todd Hyra, this past month. As the presidency term only lasts for one year, Hyra says the nice part is that you still get to see projects you’re passionate about go forward as you’re part of the board two years leading up as vice president… Read More
Syngenta Canada has applied for registration of Fortenza insecticide in soybeans. The diamide insecticide is currently used in corn, and the company has submitted trial data to demonstrate its effectiveness for wireworm, seed corn maggot, and European chaffer control in soybeans. Last week, Syngenta agronomic services manager Chris Denys told those attending the Crop Masters tour… Read More
A scratchy-voiced Peter Johnson needs you to get out there and scout, scout, scout for aphids on soybean. While you’re out in the fields, you also need to check for all sorts of other insects because hot, dry weather is helping creepy-crawlies multiply. It’s also time to get that first white mould suppression pass on,… Read More
Many Ontario farmers will remember when they routinely sprayed soybean crops to control bean leaf beetle. That changed 10 years ago with the introduction of neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments, which helped suppress populations of the pest in Ontario and many U.S. states. But the pest is mounting a comeback as neonic use continues to decline and… Read More
As part of its ongoing assessment of neonicotinoid pesticides (or neonics), Health Canada has proposed renewed three-year registrations for two of the three neonics under review, with some added restrictions. The review, which began in 2012, was initiated to assess the potential risk to pollinators from the nicotine-based products used to control insect pests. Farmers… Read More
Less than ideal conditions have slowed down canola development and left the crop vulnerable to tiny 2.5 millimetre beetles in some areas this spring. Flea beetles are the number one pest in canola on the Western Canadian Prairies. In this Canola School episode, we talk with Tyler Wist, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, about how… Read More
Deciding which product to use is not easy. Depending on the category, the plethora of products or services is extensive and noisy. Whether it is biologicals, precision agriculture, or seed enhancements, to name a few, it can be very difficult to try and figure out which products are the best fit for your farm. At… Read More
Taking a break from peas or lentils for six years is a tall order for fields where aphanomyces has been a problem. Are there in-field options or tools for managing this relatively new disease? Syama Chatterton, pulse crops pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, has been conducting field trials across the prairies over the last two… Read More
Clarence Swanton has worked for 16 years on a super cool project that takes about 40 minutes to explain properly, as he did at the recent Southwest Agricultural Conference. Perhaps more impactful, however, is the time-lapse video he showed whereby the mere presence of weedy surroundings actually killed a tobacco seedling. Perhaps this makes sense —… Read More