Ontario Proposes an Amendment to the Weed Control Act

Mar 04, 2014

Province Considers Removing Milkweed, Adding Dog Strangling Vine to the Noxious Weeds List

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

On Friday, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food recommended that two minor changes be made to the Schedule of Noxious Weeds, R.R.O. 1990, Regulation 1096, under the Weed Control Act.

The proposal is to remove milkweed and add dog-strangling vine to the Noxious Weeds list.

On the ministry’s website the regulation proposal notice says that while the common milkweed is considered a noxious weed in Ontario, it also provides an important food source for the Monarch butterfly.

Considering when milkweed was first added to the list, there has since been “an expansion in the number of management options available” for farmers to deal with milkweed.

Adding Dog-strangling vine to the list, however, would be in the best interest of the Monarch butterfly populations, as it would provide weed inspectors with more options to deal with the invasive plant. The vine is considered a threat to Monarch larvae.

“Although the Monarch butterfly is attracted to the plant, any eggs laid will not survive. It is, therefore, considered a hazard to Monarch butterfly populations,” the notice said.

There is a 45-day public common period until April 14, 2014. Comments will be taken under consideration in the decision-making process. More information can be found here.

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.