China-based company XAG is growing a name for itself, recently displaying a series of fully autonomous drones and farm monitoring sensors at Agritechnica, in Hanover, Germany. Founded in 2007, XAG now has laboratories and research stations in 38 countries, and is focused on developing technology to address plant protection, crop monitoring, and farm management. Its… Read More

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

A Canadian company is making headway in the spray world with six-legged applicators. Bee Vectoring Technologies (BVT) uses commercially-reared bees to deliver crop controls through pollination. Its first registered product, Clonostachys rosea CR-7 (CR-7), is an organic strain of an endophytic fungus the company says has many functions, including: Controlling numerous diseases in plants, particularly… Read More

Health Canada has completed its re-evaluations of the neonicotinoid pesticides clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam in relation to the insecticides’ potential impact on bees and other pollinators. The final decision, announced today, reflects scientific assessment that shows “varying effects on bees and other pollinators” from exposure to each of these pesticides, Health Canada says. The department… Read More

Agriculture industry and farm groups are voicing strong concerns about Health Canada’s proposed ban of two neonicotinoid (neonic) crop protection products announced on Wednesday. Citing risk to aquatic insects, such as mayflies and midges, not bees, the federal health department’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is looking to phase out all agricultural uses of thiamethoxam… 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

After several delays on voting, a majority of European Union member states voted in favour of added restrictions on outdoor neonicotinoid use on Friday. Restrictions on neonic use within the EU were first introduced in 2013. Similar to restrictions in Canada, imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam were first restricted for use on corn wheat, barley, oats, and… Read More

Following significant restrictions by the Ontario government in 2015, seed corn companies in the province began to offer non-neonicotinoid seed treatment insecticide options. Now, a significant portion of corn seed sales carry non-neonicotinoid options. It’s bizarre then, that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change recently published data showing only a 22% reduction in the amount… Read More

The European Commission ‘severely restricted‘ three neonicotinoids — clothiandidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam — in an effort to protect honeybees, but critics say the regulations are doing for the very opposite. “In 2013 the European parliament voted to ban the use of neonics on flowering plant species, because of concerns about bee health,” said Simon Kightley,… Read More

Similar to regulations introduced in Ontario in 2015, Quebec announced this week that farmers will require an agronomist’s prescription before accessing any of the three neonicotinoid insecticides, chlorpyrifos (also an insecticide), and the herbicide atrazine. Isabelle Melançon, Quebec’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, cited the risk to pollinators as… Read More

Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart today announced a $6.3 million commitment to 24 livestock and forage-related research projects and $2 million over two years to the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence. Background: Livestock centre of excellence receives $4.5 million from federal gov’t A&W donates $5M to the… Read More

 

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