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: 1900

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

PCDMN Soil Moisture Maps: Risk of stem rot sclerotial germination, July 2, 2025

June and early July are important months in terms of field crop disease development.  For diseases such as sclerotinia stem rot of canola and ergot of small grain cereals, suitable pathogen development must occur to produce spores before host infection can take place.  The pathogens associated with both diseases overwinter as resting bodies known as sclerotia, which are compact masses of hyphae (Figure 1).  Germination of stem rot sclerotia to produce the golf-tee shaped apothecia, aka carpogenic germination, requires suitable moisture conditions and moderate temperatures: Typically, sclerotial germination takes up to three weeks with the occurrence of temperatures that range from 10 to 20oC and suitable moisture conditions Soil moisture levels at or close to field capacity at the soil surface are needed for germination of sclerotia, although some germination can occur when levels are somewhat less that field capacity Field capacity varies depending on soil texture but is generally ar

Beef Producers Have a Game Plan to Keep Canada FMD-Free

Canada’s last outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) occurred in Saskatchewan in 1952, and, since then our herds have remained free of FMD. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Canada is designated as FMD-free without vaccination. This designation is awarded to countries that do not have the FMD virus circulating among cloven-hoofed animals without regular preventative vaccines. The 1952 outbreak was traced to a single sausage brought over by a farm worker from Germany. This seemingly harmless act of bringing a foreign food product on a flight had devastating effects on the Canadian economy, costing approximately $2 million in expenses and lost revenue at that time. If an outbreak were to occur in Canada today, it is estimated that the economic impact could soar to over $80 million.  You Are Here! Prevent and Prepare Canada is currently able to prevent Foot and Mouth Disease from crossing our borders and to prepare for any suspected FMD c

Working together to promote 4R practices to farmers

Fertilizer Canada and Alberta Grains have developed a 4R memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines how Agriculture and Irrigation, the agriculture industry and farmers can work together to bolster data collection and communication to increase 4R practice adoption levels. The MOU, a three-year agreement, was signed by Agriculture and Irrigation, Environment and Protected Areas, Alberta Grains and Fertilizer Canada. The objectives of the MOU are to improve production and environmental stewardship through greater awareness of 4R practices and principles. It also aims to establish mechanisms to pursue common objectives and priorities related to soil health/quality and nutrient management, and to support the Alberta government's commitments to the crop industry’s sustainable growth. “I’m so happy to announce the government’s MOU with Fertilizer Canada and Alberta Grains, set to increase awareness of 4R principles and practices. The bottom line is that this approach helps producers m

Grill Season is Here and It’s Never Been Fresher

“Grilling naturally brings out the vibrant flavours of fresh, seasonal ingredients,” says Garry Scott, Vice President of Marketing at Napoleon. “It’s one of the best ways to enjoy everything this time of year has to offer – bold flavours, fresh air and good company.”

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service