It's not the worst thing that ever happened in Canada
Sunday, November 8, 2015
How the legislation on neonics plays out will determine the working relationship between farmers and governments for years to come. Meaningful dialogue with compromises is needed
by PAT LYNCH
This past summer, I was at our log cabin with a friend and her grandchildren. During the day, one grandchild spilled a lot of paint on an outside deck floor. My friend said "Ruby!" in a high, questioning voice. The four year old granddaughter looked at her and said: "Grandma, it's not the worst thing that ever happened in Canada." She was right. The paint cleaned up easily.
The legislation on neonics is also not the worst thing that ever happened in Canada. We all realize this legislation is to satisfy environmental groups. It is not to protect the environment.
That being said, it is a law. Is massive civil disobedience justified over a piece of legislation that affects the way you make a living? Are farmers putting a stake in the ground saying "we will work with you but we will not be dictated to?"
How this legislation plays out will determine the working relationship between farmers and governments for years to come – not just in Ontario but in Canada and many other countries. Working together means meaningful dialogue with compromises.
Should the legislation withstand the legal challenge put forward by Grain Farmers of Ontario, you have choices to make. Do two wrongs make a right? Are you justified in ignoring the legislation because the government ignored how you farm?
If you are following the guidelines and just using 50 per cent neonic-treated seed, then you must prioritize your fields. The first fields that will benefit from an insecticide treatment are those coming out of perennial forages. The next are fields with red clover or another plow-down crop. Another priority group are manured fields or those with a known history of wireworms, grubs or chafers.
If you are doing a pest assessment to justify use of insecticide-treated seed, there are some things you should be aware of. This pest assessment has never been field-tested in Ontario. I have been involved in "field testing" scouting techniques for leaf hoppers, corn rootworm, western bean cutworm and soy bean aphids. In all cases, the initial protocol for scouting was changed after field testing.
Typically it takes three years to field-test a scouting technique. The scouting techniques for wireworms have never been field-tested in Ontario. For wireworms, it is better to scout in the spring. For chafers and grubs, there is no known scouting technique.
If you put out bait traps and do not find wireworms, that does not mean they are not there. This was a reason why I never did scouting for wire worms when, for 25 years, I was head of the largest field crop scouting program in Ontario. False negatives can cause yield loss.
As well as the matter of farmer government relations into the future, there is the beekeeper-farmer relationship. Currently, it is antagonistic. It will most likely lead to farmers posting their fields to warn beekeepers that any bees foraging on their crops do so at their own risk. It will also mean farmers will not want bee hives on their farms.
Which brings me to another point – where hives are allowed. I have a close friend whose granddaughter was stung by a honey bee. Fortunately, they got her to the hospital in the 15 minutes that was crucial. They live in a city. The bees are next door. The beekeeper changed queen bees and the hive was very agitated. When the beekeeper was told of the incident, he said: "How can you prove it was my bees?" We need better guidelines as to where bee hives can be kept.
The current insecticide treatment on seed is not the worst thing that ever happened in Canada, but it will change the course of where we go on future issues. BF
Consulting agronomist Pat Lynch, CCA (ON,) formerly worked with the Ontario agriculture ministry and with Cargill.