(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ontario won’t widen comment window on neonics: GFO

The public comment period on Ontario’s planned regulations for neonicotinoid seed treatments will close Thursday as scheduled, despite requests from the province’s grain grower group for an extension. The province has “refused” to extend the public comment period on the use of the insecticide group in seed treatments, Grain Farmers of Ontario said in a […] Read more

honeybee on a canola flower

The latest buzz on bees and neonics

Ontario government proposes restricted use of neonic-treated seed

The Ontario government has released its proposed regulatory changes to the provincial Pesticides Act to restrict the sale and use of corn and soybean seed treated with neonicotinoids in the province — and to say Ontario’s grain farmers aren’t pleased would be an understatement. According to provincial agriculture minister Jeff Leal, the intent is to […] Read more


(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

GFO seeks longer comment period on neonic regs

Grain Farmers of Ontario wants the province’s environment ministry to reconsider the rush on the comment period for its proposed new controls on neonicotinoid seed treatments. The province has given the public, farmers included, a 45-day period ending May 7 to comment on its proposed regulations. “This is one of the busiest times of the […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Neonic rules ‘unworkable’ for Ont. corn, soy growers

Ontario’s planned regulation to limit the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments might as well be a ban from where the organization sits representing the province’s corn and soy producers. After reviewing the draft regulation, which provincial officials posted March 23 for public comment until May 7, Grain Farmers of Ontario said Thursday it “strongly opposes […] Read more


A Lowe’s store in Sanford, N.C. (Lowes.com)

Lowe’s to phase out sales of neonics by 2019

Chicago | Reuters — Home improvement chain Lowe’s will stop selling a type of pesticide suspected of causing a decline in honeybee populations needed to pollinate key American crops, following a few U.S. retailers who took similar steps last year. The pesticides known as neonicotinoids (neonics) are sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields of […] Read more

(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Pesticides could lead to ‘pollination deficit,’ EU report says

Brussels | Reuters –– Evidence is mounting that widely-used pesticides harm moths, butterflies and birds as well as bees, adding to concerns crop production could be hit by a shortage of pollinators, according to a report drawn up for EU policymakers. The European Commission, the EU executive, placed restrictions on three neonicotinoid pesticides from Dec. […] Read more



(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ont. ag minister to review GFO proposal on bee health, neonics

Ontario corn and soybean growers have secured a meeting with the provincial ag minister on the farmers’ proposed Plan B to balance crop pest control against bee health. Grain Farmers of Ontario said Thursday its representatives will meet March 26 with Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal to discuss the proposals laid out in GFO’s Ontario Pollinator […] Read more


bee in a sunflower

Viable substitutes for neonicotinoids

Some groups are calling for bans on neonic pesticides. Get the scoop on alternatives for your farm

In September Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne mandated Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture Jeff Leal to start working to reduce the use of neonicotinoid (also known as neonic) pesticides in the province after 2016. The reduction may include bans or severe restrictions on approved uses. Several countries across the European Union have suspended use of several common […] Read more

Ontario’s curbs on neonics may protect bees but diminish crops

Winnipeg | Reuters –– Ontario’s move to protect bees by reducing use of a pesticide seed treatment may diminish corn and soybean production, seed companies said on Wednesday. Beekeepers welcomed the move by Ontario, the first North American government to curb use of seed treated with neonicotinoids, which are used to kill insects that harm […] Read more