Farmers could lose the use of thiamethoxam and clothianidin in the next three to five years
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Canada’s federal government is considering removing an important pest management tool from farmers’ toolboxes.
Today, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency announced that “all outdoor agricultural and ornamental uses” of two neonicotinoid pesticides, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, could be phased out within three to five years.
The decision comes after “special reviews,” which found neonic levels pose a threat to some insects.
“Over the last decade, the amount of neonicotinoids used in agriculture has increased substantially,” Health Canada said in a statement today. “Recent water monitoring data indicates that neonicotinoids being detected in some Canadian water bodies are at levels that cause harm to aquatic insect populations.”
Neonics are an important part of a producer’s pest management program.
The pesticides help growers manage such insects as corn rootworms, cutworms and wireworms, all of which can rob growers of potential yield.
Removing neonics from a farmers’ crop protection inventory could pose challenges, said Jim Duffy, a cash crop producer from Lambton County.
“It’s certainly going to hurt a lot of farmers,” he told Farms.com today. “It’s an important tool that farmers need, and if there’s no replacement for it, it’s going to be tough for farmers to manage pests.”
Health Canada is giving the public a chance to weigh in on the decision.
Interested parties can comment on the government’s decision for the next 90 days. The government will announce its final decisions by the end of 2019.
Growers hope Health Canada will further study neonics to see they may not be as dangerous to insects as some people think.
“I wish they would base their decisions on some of the research that’s available,” Matt Marontate, a producer from Essex County, told Farms.com today.