Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Course Corn and Soybeans Update

Apr 21, 2020

RIDGETOWN, ON - Ontario has made changes to the requirements for the purchase and use of corn and soybean seeds treated with neonicotinoid insecticides, imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam (i.e. Class 12 pesticides). Regulatory changes proposed last year to reduce complexity and regulatory burden have been implemented including:

Farmers are still required to be certified by successfully completing the IPM Course for Corn and Soybeans, but now, this certification only needs to be completed once. If you have previously been certified your certification no longer expires every 5 years and will continue to be valid.

The Pest Assessment Report (PAR) or a new Pest Risk Assessment Report (PRAR), only needs to be completed once per farm property, it does not need to be repeated yearly. If you have previously completed a pest assessment report that was prepared and signed under O. Reg. 63/09 prior to April 10, 2020, you may continue to use that report to purchase and use Class 12 pesticides.

Treated Seed Vendor requirements have also changed. A Treated Seed Vendor no longer is required to obtain copies of the PAR/PRARs, Written Declarations and certificate numbers from IPM certified farmers; and to complete sales records of each Class 12 pesticide sold and amount. Vendors only need to request to view these documents to complete their sales records.

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will no longer post a list of Class 12 pesticides.

Source : University of Guelph

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.