Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Ontario BeeKeepers' Association Responds To Misleading Media Campaign - Neonics.

From Ontario Bee Association

MILTON, ON. A coalition of Ontario Farm organizations, along with pesticide and seed industries, has launched a major advertising campaign touting their concern for honey bees. This expensive campaign is an attempt to defend a highly profitable monopoly that promotes the overuse of the pesticides that are killing Ontario’s bees and poisoning our soil and water. The ads purport to “get the facts straight” on honey bees. Unfortunately their presentation of isolated ‘facts’ are designed to mislead the public into false conclusions about pesticides and honey bee health.

The Ontario Beekeepers’ Association has represented the interests of Ontario beekeepers since 1881. No one knows more about honey bees in Ontario than Ontario beekeepers. That’s why we need to set the record straight. Let’s compare what the ad claims to what beekeepers know to be true:

The ad claims: “Honey bee colonies are up almost 60% since 2003, when the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments were introduced.”

Last winter Ontario beekeepers lost 58% of their hives. The number of honey bee colonies (measured in mid summer) does not reflect the large number of colonies lost each winter, nor does it reflect the 30,000 queens or nearly 20,000 bee packages that beekeepers had to purchase to replace the unusually high number of colonies that failed in the winter and spring. We also want to stress that although honey bee colonies can be managed by beekeepers to sustain their numbers, reports indicate serious declines among wild bees and other pollinators.

The ad claims:” Honey production has increased by 29% in the past year and Ontario has a successful honey beekeeping industry which earned $30 million in 2014.”

Fact: Honey production on a per colony basis is actually down by 40% since 2003. We’d also like to point out that ‘earnings’ are not the same as ‘profits’. Every spring Ontario beekeepers work diligently, and at great cost, to recover their winter losses and respond to the high demand for bees for blueberry pollination. Ontario’s beekeepers are producing less honey while incurring significant costs to restore their colony numbers. As well, although Canada is a net exporter of honey, Ontario experiences a honey trade deficit of nearly $15 million due to the lack of safe bee pasture and the inability of pesticide weakened colonies to meet current demand.

Perhaps an even more significant figure is the contribution Ontario’s beekeepers make to agriculture which OMAFRA estimates to be $897 million in Ontario and another $71 million in eastern Canada.

The ad claims: “Health Canada recently released a report that the number of honey bee incidents reported during planting was down 70 per cent.”

Another misleading statement. The Health Canada report cited was an interim report. In fact, Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) reported (see link to PA report below) that pesticide poisoning incidents were actually higher in 2014 (345) compared to 2013 (320) and 2012 (240). It’s also important to note that with 58% of colonies dying over the winter there were fewer colonies exposed to pesticides and, as well, due to the late planting

season, many colonies had already left the province for pollination services when neonic treated corn and soy were being planted.

The ad claims: “Bee experts agree that the top health issues for honey bees are parasites, diseases, inadequate nutrition, adverse weather and hive management practices”.

Another misleading statement. Beekeepers have been able to manage mites, disease and pests for decades. Unfortunately, however, we are unable to avoid pesticide exposure. In Ontario, neonics are used to treat over 5 million acres of soy and corn, when even our own provincial crop specialists say that they are only needed on 10% – 20% of these acres. In addition to killing bees outright, neonicotinoids compromise bees’ immune systems, making them more vulnerable to viruses and making it more difficult to fight off varroa. It reduces their navigation skills, affecting the bees’ capacity to forage and communicate forage opportunities; and it compromise nutrition by reducing the availability of a diversity of uncontaminated plants.

The ad claims: “..real-world level field research consistently demonstrates that response of neonicotinoid seed treatments does not result in honey bee colony health issues.”

In 2013 the E.U. put in place a moratorium on the use of neonicotinoids on field crops based on an extensive review of existing research. More recently additional research has been published that overwhelmingly points to neonicotinoids as the cause of the worldwide decline of bee populations and other organisms. This year after reviewing 600 studies of neonicotinoids in the single, most comprehensive study ever undertaken, scientists concluded:

The body of evidence reviewed in this Worldwide Integrated Assessment indicates that overall, a compelling body of evidence has accumulated that clearly demonstrates that the wide-scale use of these persistent, water-soluble chemicals is having widespread, chronic impacts upon global biodiversity and is likely to be having major negative effects on ecosystem services such as pollination that are vital to food security and sustainable development.

The ad claims: “The fact is these regulations will not benefit honey bees”

We disagree. Ontario has taken a bold step to protect honey bees by setting targets to reduce the use of neonicotinoid pesticides by 80% by 2017. This step, alone, will help honey bees. In the past three years we have seen excessive colony losses and an increase in the number of Ontario beekeepers reporting incidents of pesticide poisoning, leading to Health Canada to conclude in their 2013 report: “the current use of neonicotinoid pesticides on corn and soy is not sustainable”.

Ontario’s policy will disrupt the highly profitable monopoly that the global AgChem industry enjoys by promoting and selling pre-treated seeds as cheap insurance. So it’s no surprise that the industry would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to deceive the people of Ontario to protect their profits.

As beekeepers, we do not pretend to be crop farming experts. We will not place ads or sponsor websites on crop farming or give advice to growers about how to increase yield. But as farmers, we know about the health of our livestock. We object strongly to any insinuation that current systemic pesticide management practices on Ontario field crops are not killing our bees, ruining our ability to make a living keeping bees and putting vital pollinators and our food security at risk.

One thing we can all agree with, though, “Bees matter to agriculture. Bees matter to us all.” 

http://www.ontariobee.com/

 

 

Views: 1837

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Here is the Information provided by the group of agriculture associations including the Grain Farmers of Ontario.

Bees Matter

http://beesmatter.ca/

Enough said. Thank you OBA. Unfortunately, it is an uphill battle when the Ag Chem industry has money to put full page ads full of misinformation (or at least incomplete information) in all of the major newspapers.

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Key International Export Markets See Significant Agri-Food Volume Increase

Algeria, Indonesia and Morocco, three of Saskatchewan's key international markets, saw significant increases in provincial agri-food exports in 2023 over, the previous year. "The increase in exports to important international markets like Algeria, Indonesia and Morocco are yet another example of our agriculture sector's resiliency and dedication to providing reliable, high-quality agri-food products worldwide," Agriculture Minister David Marit said. "Numbers like these showcase the success we are seeing through our presence in world markets and building key relationships with our partners across the globe." Exports to Algeria had the third-highest increase in volume among Saskatchewan's top markets at 1,232,110 tonnes, or over 69 per cent. Algeria is Saskatchewan's fourth-leading market in volume with the top export commodities being durum and lentils. Indonesia's export numbers had a similar rise with an over 62 per cent increase in volume. Indonesia rose to Saskatchewan's sixth-

Supporting Research and Innovation in Agriculture with Funding for 101 New Projects

The governments of Canada and Manitoba are providing $16.3 million in grant funding under the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership (Sustainable CAP) to support 101 projects under the Research and Innovation Program over the next three years, federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today. “Folks around the world are looking for more sustainable agri-food products and I know our producers can deliver,” said MacAulay. “By investing in research and innovation across the value chain, we can address current and future challenges and help make sure the sector remains resilient, competitive, and efficient.” The funding will go towards research and capacity building to accelerate innovation in agriculture in Manitoba, supporting companies that are leading innovative research and putting Manitoba at the forefront of sustainable agriculture research. “Research and innovation drives growth and economic de

Low to Moderate Risk of Significant Spring Flooding for Manitoba

Manitoba is facing just a low to moderate risk of significant spring flooding this year, according to the provincial Hydrological Forecast Centre. With normal- to below-normal soil moisture at freeze-up and well-below-normal to above-normal winter precipitation for most Manitoba basins, the March Flood Outlook report on Tuesday said the risk of significant spring flooding is low to moderate for most Manitoba basins. Water levels are expected to remain below dikes and community or individual flood protection levels. The spring flooding risk is low for the Red River and tributaries, low to moderate for the Assiniboine River and tributaries and the Interlake region including the Icelandic and Fisher rivers; and generally low for the Souris, Qu’Appelle, Rat, Roseau, Pembina, Saskatchewan and Churchill river basins, and the Whiteshell Lakes region. Most Manitoba lake levels are normal to below normal and forecasted to remain within their operating range after the spring runoff, the out

Potato planting in peril: Irish farmers face uncertain future amidst wet weather woes

In a concerning turn for the Irish potato industry, farmers across the nation are grappling with a pressing dilemma due to unrelenting rainfalls. The situation has left them in a state of uncertainty, as they question whether planting their crops this year is a feasible option, as Louise Walsh reports in a news story published on breakingnews.ie.

CPMA announces the 2024 PFP participants

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) is proud to announce 20 rising stars who will participate in the 2024 Passion for Produce (PFP) program in Vancouver.

© 2024   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service