Ontario, Quebec Beekeepers Want a Ban on Neonicotinoid Pesticides

Jul 03, 2013

Ontario, Quebec Beekeepers Want a Ban on Neonicotinoid Pesticides

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Beekeepers in Ontario and Quebec are calling for a ban on neonicotinoids sprayed on field crops.

The Ontario Beekeepers’ Association (OBA) and the Fédération des apiculteurs du Québec have joined together to ask their agriculture and environment ministries to consider a ban on neonictinoids. This spring the European Union put a two year moratorium on the use of certain neonicotinoid pesticides.

The demand was prompted by what the beekeepers claim as heavy losses of bee colonies this spring. “Our industry cannot sustain these losses. Reduced numbers of pollinators also threaten the viability of our local fruit and vegetable supply,” said Dan Davidson, President of the Ontario Beekeepers Association.

A 2012 Health Canada report conducted by the Federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency suggests a correlation between corn seeds planted with insecticides clothianidin and or thiamethosam to be a contributor to bee mortalities.

The topic of pesticides is expected to be raised at a meeting between Ontario and Quebec’s Ministers of Agriculture in Halifax July 17 to 19.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.