Technical briefing took place Tuesday, April 7th, 2015
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
The ongoing debate about the use of neonicotinoids (neonics) in Ontario continued as Grain Farmers of Ontario attended a technical briefing from the provincial Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and Ministry of Agriculture.
The briefing revolved around a written draft that’s aimed to try and reduce the use of neonics in Ontario by 80% by 2017. The regulations could also limit how much neonic-treated seed is sold and purchased.
Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) are strongly opposed to these possible regulations.
“Our organization has spent a significant amount of time reviewing and evaluating the draft regulations and brought forward numerous questions to the Ontario government regarding various aspects of the plan,” said Mark Brock, Chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario in a press release. “The lack of clarity, inability to address very real on-farm challenges with respect to implementation of the regulations, and the timelines imposed on the industry as a whole create an unmanageable, widespread burden to agriculture.”
The main reason for the new regulations is Ontario’s commitment to protecting bees – who are responsible for pollinating a large variety of crops. Brock said GFO has worked with people in the pollinator industry, including creating the Ontario Pollinator Health Blueprint that the government “dismissed entirely” he said.
Brock said the draft’s reach is getting to a point where farmers can’t use the products at all.
“The regulations, as drafted, create insurmountable barriers to access neonicotinoid seed treatment – essentially, the government has developed a ban on the product,” he said.
Brock said GFO’s main concern is the livelihood of grain farmers who are responsible for about $9 billion in economic output and more than 40,000 jobs in Ontario.
The public can comment on the draft up until May 7th, 2015. If the draft and regulations are passed, they would come into act on July 1st, 2015.
Join the conversation and give us your opinion on neonics and their place in Ontario agriculture.