Ontario field editor (and sheep doula) Lyndsey Smith joins Kelvin Heppner to co-host today’s show, which includes discussion about the pre-election budget unveiled in Ontario; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to the Lewis family farm at Gray, Saskatchewan; and the launch of a new project by Syngenta and the Soil Council of Canada to help wild bees… Read More
Search Results for: bees
The House of Commons Agriculture Committee sent a letter to the federal Health Minister last week outlining concerns about Health Canada’s proposed ban of imidacloprid, one of the three main neonicotinoid seed treatments used by farmers. The extended comment period on the proposal to phase out imidacloprid use over the next three years concluded on… Read More
Honeybees have played an important role in Canadian agriculture for decades, with past stressors and tough seasons humming along under the radar, for the most part. That all changed a few years ago when it became a political imperative to “save the bees.” Maryam Sultan, bee health associate with Bayer, recently discussed the subject of… Read More
As we close the book on 2016, it’s been an honour for us here at Real Agriculture to provide you with ag information and insight that we hope has been valuable. Looking back, it’s interesting to see what got people excited over the past year. Traffic on our site is one way of measuring this, and… Read More
Ontario has released its Pollinator Health Action Plan which includes focusing on four key stressors to honeybee and pollinator health and financial support and increased education for beekeepers. A re-iterated aspirational goal to “restore, enhance and protect” 1 million acres of pollinator habitat is also included in the plan. Found here, the plan is a mix of… Read More
Ontario’s government, in conjunction with the federal government, has announced updates to the Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation Program (OWDCP). The updated OWDCP will clearly define the requirements farmers need to meet to receive compensation for losses of livestock, poultry, and bees/hives. The OWDCP is part of the GrowingForward 2 program. Changes are said to be… Read More
The further you get away from an event, the more people romanticize about how great it was. This happens with vacations, minor hockey careers, and fishing trips all the time. Unfortunately, farming hasn’t escaped these delusional romantic thoughts. History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon. – Napoleon Bonaparte –… Read More
The Canadian Farm Writers Federation held its annual national meeting in Saskatoon, Sask. from Thursday through Saturday, wrapping up with the annual awards banquet at the (reportedly haunted) Delta Bessborough. Starting the night off right, video editor extraordinaire, Jason Stroeve, brought home gold for his work with Tom Wolf, Jason Deveau, and Bern Tobin on Spray Tips Special… Read More
Ontario’s focus on the environmental side of farming has just been underlined and intensified, even more. With the midpoint mandate of her provincial government having been reached, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne put pen to paper last week to help guide both new and established ministers on the next part of their journey. Her mission was… Read More
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
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
A year ago we ran a post describing the grandparent wisdom you should never forget on the farm. This list of five things was very popular, even inspiring several additions to the list through reader emails, twitter and Facebook. All things are not golden though — it’s time to release the list of the things your grandparents… 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
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
We’ve had another amazing year covering and discussing the exciting world of agriculture here at RealAgriculture. With the books closed on 2015, we’ve compiled a list of our most viewed articles. We knew the enormous response to Alberta’s Bill 6 and Ontario’s seed treatment regulations would show up, and machinery articles are always popular, but there… Read More