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

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency recently announced results of its re-evaluation of Mancozeb, a broad-spectrum fungicide for agriculture and horticulture crops. Perhaps curiously, the PMRA final decision allows for the continued use of Mancozeb for foliar use on potato crops, the largest acreage use of the fungicide currently. All other uses of Mancozeb are being cancelled… 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

In a surprising twist to this already tumultuous provincial election, Premier Kathleen Wynne held a press conference over the weekend to concede defeat, days before the election is to be held. Wynne, emotional in her speech, admitted she has no chance of being re-elected premier, and instead urged voters to still vote Liberal to ensure… Read More

In a somewhat confusing twist in the on-going neonicotinoid saga, Health Canada announced yesterday the findings of its pollinator health risk assessment for imidacloprid, one of three neonicotinoid insecticides currently under re-evaluation in Canada. It’s confusing because the findings and subsequent recommendations of the Pest Management Regulatory’s risk assessment are essentially a moot point: an earlier… Read More

The European General Court issued a verdict on Thursday upholding the European Commission’s decision in 2013 to restrict the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments (neonics). The ruling is seen as a win for the movement to restrict European farmers’ access to the chemicals used to prevent pest damage to crops. Neonic manufacturers Bayer and Syngenta,… Read More

Alberta farm groups voice opposition to honourary degree for David Suzuki

Four Alberta crop commissions that collaborate under the “Team Alberta” banner are speaking out against the University of Alberta’s decision to grant an honourary degree to David Suzuki. The chairs of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, Alberta Wheat Commission, Alberta Pulse Growers, and Alberta Barley sent an open letter to U of A president Dr…. 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

Canada’s regulator for crop protection products is facing a growing stack of re-evaluations for existing pesticide ingredients. There are several hundred active ingredients due for review by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) in the next decade. CropLife Canada — the organization that represents manufacturers of some of these products — has several concerns… 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

Regulations, by their nature, are country or region specific, but they can have spillover effects into other markets. This is the case with many crop protection products between trading partners — a ban or restriction in one region can have trickle-down impacts on use and even access in another. Many North American farmers have been… 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

 

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