Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — French lawmakers approved plans for a total ban on some widely used pesticides blamed for harming bees, going beyond European Union restrictions in a fierce debate that has pitched farmers and chemical firms against beekeepers and green groups. The EU limited the use of neonicotinoid chemicals, produced by companies including Bayer […] Read more
France moves toward all-out ban on neonics
All that confusion on seed treatments
Some implications of Ontario’s new neonic regulations are stunning
Reading Time: 6 minutes As the calendar has turned to a new year, the news from seed and chemical companies is that there is considerable confusion about seed-applied treatments. Growers, they’re finding, have been left with a mixed bag of information about the options available to them, much of which is flat out wrong. Some growers believed they had […] Read more
Regulatory reviews show slim risk to bees from imidacloprid
Reading Time: 4 minutes Label directions and rules for foliar and on-seed use of imidacloprid pesticides should either prevent or limit the risks to honeybees and other pollinators from the chemical, Canadian and U.S. regulators say in a new early-stage risk assessment. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday released […] Read more
U.S. court finds EPA wrong to approve sulfoxaflor over bee risks
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the market, canceling its approval and giving environmentalists a major victory. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, is significant for commercial beekeepers and others […] Read more
Tiny number of bees account for most crop pollination, study finds
Reading Time: 2 minutes Oslo | Reuters — Just two per cent of wild bee species do almost 80 per cent of their work in pollinating crops, according to a study on Tuesday that outlined simple measures for farmers to attract star insects to safeguard food production. The international report, based on 90 studies in five continents, said governments […] Read more
The neonic debate on the future of bees gets real
With tough new regulations on the books, even some beekeepers are calling for compromise
Reading Time: 8 minutes Two months have passed and it seems the adage, “time heals all wounds” just doesn’t hold up. Instead, we’re further into the debate on neonicotinoid seed treatments, but farmers seem no closer to a solution. They may even be a step backwards. There is still no compromise with the beekeeping sector, or with provincial politicians […] Read more
Making the case in the neonic debate
Can agriculture afford to lose to the non-science of neonic opponents? The costs would be even higher than you probably think
Reading Time: 13 minutes Here in early 2015, it’s becoming a recognized pattern in agriculture: another day, another article, another proclamation and another call for action, all revolving around farmers’ use of neonicotinoid seed treatments and the alleged damage this does to bees and bee colonies. To say there is an abundance of information on this topic is one […] Read more
The many facets of the neonicotinoid issue
The neonic debate is not a one-issue, one solution scenario
Reading Time: < 1 minute Whoever you talk to in agriculture today, most people agree this is not a one-issue, one-solution scenario. As Dr. Cynthia Scott-Dupree has stated this is more like a 1,000-piece puzzle. Making the case in the neonic debate The following are just some of the aspects involved in the neonicotinoid debate that may or may not […] Read more
A cover crop that buzzes
Phacelia can fit a variety of cropping systems, and it’s popular with bees
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s a new arrival in cover crops called phacelia that has the compelling advantage of being neither a cereal nor an oilseed. In fact, phacelia is a completely new species in Canada’s agriculture, which may prove to be a very good thing indeed. Phacelia is a member of the waterleaf (Hydrophyllaceae) family. Unlike oilseed radish, […] Read more
Ontario’s curbs on neonics may protect bees but diminish crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
