Latest Newsletter

Tag Archives neonicotinoids

Emerging corn plants in Ontario.
Crops

Neonic ban decision expected in six months

Health Canada said it now has further information to consider in making its decision

By
Glacier FarmMedia — Health Canada is expected to make a decision on neonicotinoid insecticides in about six months. Federal scientists have studied neonics and their potential impact on aquatic insects for years. The final judgment was scheduled for this autumn, but now won’t happen until the spring. “Due to the vast amount of new information […] Read more
Neonicotinoid insecticides are used on tens of millions of acres of cropland in Canada.
Crops, News

Health Canada delays decision on proposed neonic ban

The federal agency is reviewing new evidence compiled by Agriculture Canada and expects an ‘update’ in January

By
Glacier FarmMedia – Health Canada was expected to make its final decision on neonicotinoid pesticides in January, but indications are that it might not happen. Health Canada now said it will provide an “update” on the safety of so-called neonic crop protection products in January. Why it matters: Neonicotinoid pesticides are widely used in corn […] Read more
Neonic insecticides are very often used when planting corn and soybeans.
News

Neonic paperwork burden reduced

There will be less requirement for regular renewals of risk assessment processes

By
Ontario’s government is streamlining the regulations around neonicotinoid insecticides and that should reduce the amount of paperwork required to manage the seed treatment. The changes will also decrease the need for using certified assessors to evaluate the need for the insecticides, also known as neonics. Why it matters: The large amount of paperwork involved in […] Read more
The study was recently published in Science and has concluded that imidacloprid is a threat to songbirds, said Margaret Eng, a post-doctoral fellow in the University of Saskatchewan’s Toxicology Centre and lead author of the study.
News

New neonic study points to songbird decline

The research, conducted in Ontario, says the insecticide suppresses appetite, disrupting migration

By
Glacier FarmMedia – The findings of a University of Saskatchewan and York University study may affect the fate of insecticide seed treatments in Canada. The study, which was published Sept. 13 in the scientific journal Science, has concluded that imidacloprid is a threat to songbirds. White crowned sparrows that consumed seeds coated with the insecticide […] Read more
Health Canada has released its final decision on neonic insecticides and their potential impact on bees and other pollinators. The department will take several steps to reduce the risk to bees, but neonic seed treatments will not be affected.
News

Neonic seed treatments seen as safe for bees

Health Canada ruling yet to come on safety for aquatic insects

By
For years, groups like the David Suzuki Foundation and the Ontario Beekeepers Association have argued that neonicotinoid seed treatments represent a systemic threat to bees. “Health Canada… will be cancelling some uses of these pesticides, and changing other conditions of use such as restricting the timing of application,” a department news release said. “Remaining uses […] Read more
Jack Gray and Rachel Parkinson study locusts in their lab at the University of Saskatchewan.
News

Canadian neonic, metabolite research shows insecticide effect on insect navigation

Locusts in wind tunnels exposed to neonics lost their ability to move themselves where they wanted

By
Drunk drivers are more likely to get in an accident because the alcohol in their blood impairs vision and delays reaction time. University of Saskatchewan biologists have identified a comparable phenomenon in locusts, when the insects are exposed to a small dose of insecticide. Why it matters: Farmers require a wide range of pesticides to […] Read more
(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)
Crops

Neonic-treated canola not an ‘unacceptable risk’ for pollinators

By
Already facing federally mandated phase-outs from many major on-farm uses in Canada over risks to aquatic insects, neonicotinoids aren’t expected to pose “unacceptable risks” to pollinators when used on canola seed or hothouse vegetables in the meantime. Health Canada said as much Thursday as it released its final re-evaluation decisions for three neonic pesticides — […] Read more
Flea beetle. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)
Crops

Neonic phase-out may limit flea beetle control tools

By
CNS Canada — The phasing out of neonicotinoid seed treatments in Canada may cause problems for the country’s canola growers when dealing with flea beetles — but alternatives pesticides could fill the gap. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing that two neonicotinoid pesticides, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, be phased out over the next […] Read more
A mayfly on water. (SBTheGreenMan/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops

Phase-outs planned for clothianidin, thiamethoxam

By
The remaining two of the big three neonicotinoid insecticides will be phased out of nearly all on-farm use in Canada in the next few years under a proposal from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. PMRA officials on Wednesday announced 90-day consultation periods on its decisions for both clothianidin and thiamethoxam, following “special reviews” which […] Read more
The Elbe River at Oberrathen, southeast of Dresden. (CIA.gov)
Crops

Germany plans to toughen conditions for insecticide use

By
Berlin | Reuters — Germany plans to make it more difficult for farmers to use crop insecticides in a bid to preserve biodiversity, an environment ministry document showed. “Insect biomass has fallen by more than 75 per cent in the last 27 years in Germany,” according to the paper seen by Reuters on Wednesday, saying […] Read more

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast