Reading Time: 2 minutes Why are neonicotinoids attracting so much attention? The controversy around neonicotinoids is a global one. There are places where neonicotinoids are associated with bee kills and there are places where they are not. The science around neonics and their effects on bees has some inconsistent elements. There hasn’t been any strong colony-level field tests, for […] Read more
Expert: Neonics are an issue — and also an easy target
Alberta opts for better management to reduce bee deaths
Reading Time: 2 minutes What’s Alberta Beekeepers Commission response to Ontario’s move? Our stance hasn’t changed. We are still very much in favour of working towards a scientific conclusion or solution to what has happened. In Alberta, we just aren’t seeing the same things as they’re seeing out in Ontario. We were very interested in the Pest Management Regulatory […] 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
Ontario proposes deep cuts to farmers’ neonic use by 2017
Ontario’s new goal to ban most use of neonicotinoid pesticides in corn and soybean crops by 2017 has yielded bouquets from the province’s beekeepers — but left crop growers feeling stung. Following up on Premier Kathleen Wynne’s orders to her agriculture and environment ministers in their mandate letters in September, the province on Tuesday announced it will consult on […] Read more
Neonics ban results in bug damage to crops
Rapeseed crops show damage four weeks after planting
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters – Rapeseed crops in Germany are suffering unusually high levels of insect damage this autumn following the European Union’s ban on neonics, says the German farming association DBV. Some farmers may suffer lower yields in the upcoming 2015 rapeseed harvest, it said. The EU has decided to restrict neonicotinoids which have been linked to […] Read more
Neonic controversy shouldn’t affect canola producers
Ontario eyes restricting use of popular pesticide after bee deaths
Reading Time: 3 minutes The latest salvo in the ongoing controversy over neonicotinoids won’t affect Alberta canola growers, but it reinforces the need to “get the message out,” says the chairman of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. Ontario’s new agriculture minister, Jeff Leal surprised and angered that province’s grain and oilseeds producers last month by saying he’s considering restrictions […] Read more
Syngenta scientist casts doubts on neonicotinoid research
One U.K.-based researcher believes the real culprit behind colony collapse is inexperience, poor weather, mites and disease — not neonicotinoids
Reading Time: 2 minutes A Syngenta bee researcher told the recent GrowCanada conference neonicotinoids are being unfairly blamed for declining bee populations. “The risk to bee populations from neonicotinoids as they are currently used and used according to the label, is low,” Helen Thompson, a Syngenta bee researcher, told attendees. The U.K.-based scientist said studies used in the European […] Read more
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