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Tag Archives neonics — page 2

Ontario Environment Minister Glen Murray spoke about his understanding of agriculture at the recent OFA annual meeting. (John Greig photo)
Crops

Greig: Ontario environment minister reaches out to farmers

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The Ontario Liberal government appears to be attempting to mend the gap created between the government and rural Ontario. Premier Kathleen Wynne apologized on Nov. 19 to Ontarians for the significant rise in electricity costs, now about the highest in North America. According to media reports she said it was her mistake and her government […] Read more
Health Canada is calling for a three- to five-year phase-out of imidacloprid from farm use over potential risks to aquatic insects such as mayflies. (OttawaRiverkeeper.ca)
Crops

PMRA seeks phase-out for neonic pesticide imidacloprid

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Canadian farm use of the pesticide imidacloprid, from the controversial neonicotinoid family, is facing a three- to five-year phase-out from approval over its potential risks to aquatic insects. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) on Wednesday announced it had completed a re-evaluation of the pesticide and has kicked off a 90-day public consultation period, […] Read more
(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Crops

Long-term U.K. study links neonics to wild bee declines

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London | Reuters — Wild bees that forage from oilseed rape crops treated with insecticides known as neonicotinoids are more likely to undergo long-term population declines than bees that forage from other sources, according to the findings of an 18-year study. The new research covered 62 species of bee found in the wild in Britain […] Read more
(GreenPalm.org)
Crops

France’s Senate suspends palm oil tax, delays neonic ban

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Paris | Reuters — The French Senate on Thursday adopted a revised version of its biodiversity bill in which senators scrapped an additional tax on palm oil and delayed until 2020 a ban on pesticides blamed for harming bees. The decisions are not final as the two houses of the French parliament now have to […] Read more
Western bumblebee. (Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Crops

In risks to bees, study finds not all neonics equal

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London | Reuters — A group of chemical insecticides known as neonicotinoids that have been banned in Europe due to fears about potential harm to bees have been found in new research to have very differential risks for bumblebees. Scientists who conducted the research said their findings showed that at least one neonicotinoid in the […] Read more
Western corn rootworm larvae. (Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ontario court rejects grower appeal on neonic rules

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The group representing Ontario’s corn and soybean growers, seeking a stay on the province’s new restrictions for use of neonicotinoid seed treatments, won’t get its wish from the provincial Court of Appeal. The appeal court on Wednesday dismissed a March 9 application from Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) seeking an interpretation of the province’s new […] Read more
(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Crops

France moves toward all-out ban on neonics

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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
(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Livestock

Ontario weighs mandatory beekeeping practices in draft plan

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Fresh off limiting farmers’ use of neonicotinoid seed treatments, the Ontario government now wants public comment on further moves it might make to improve the health of bees and other pollinators in the province. Among the “potential actions” up for consideration in the province’s new draft action plan are the use of public lands to expand […] Read more
Western corn rootworm larvae. (Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Crops

Court to hear growers’ appeal of Ontario neonic rules

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Ontario’s soybean and corn growers have been granted an appeal hearing in their bid to delay the province’s new limits on neonicotinoid seed treatments. Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the body for the province’s corn, soy, wheat, barley and oat growers, said Tuesday the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to hear its case on March […] Read more
(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Crops

Regulatory reviews show slim risk to bees from imidacloprid

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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

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