Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Pesticide-carrying bumblebees cause some concern

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Bee Vectoring Technology (BVT), based in Vancouver, is offering a new way to deliver pesticides – with bumblebees.

According to Gizmag, the technology works by placing a tray of powder, containing a mixture of natural pesticides and beneficial fungi, into the lid of a regular commercial beehive. As the bees leave the hive, they pick up the powder, carrying it with them to every flower they pollinate.

David Passafiume, an organic farmer near Toronto, told New Scientist that he has been using BVT pesticides on his 8.5 acres of strawberries and raspberries for five years. "We were losing a significant portion of our crop each year to Botrytis and tarnished plant bugs," he said, adding that losses now are negligible and profits have gone up by a quarter. Not everyone is pleased at the thought of pesticide-carrying bees. Jeremy Kerr, a University of Ottawa biologist, told New Scientist that he thinks this technology should only be used inside greenhouses to reduce the chances of unintended effects on non-target plants or other pollinators. As well, Prof. Sydney Cameron of the University of Illinois worries that BVT's use of commercially-raised bees poses a risk toward wild bee populations. "Domesticated bumblebees carry pathogens that can be transmitted into the wild," she told New Scientist. "That issue has not been resolved."

According to a press release, BVT opened its first production plant in Mississauga last October, where it can produce up to $100 million dollars-worth of products annually. BF

Current Issue

August 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Applications Open for Grains Innovation Fund 2026

Monday, July 28, 2025

Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the province’s largest commodity organization representing 28,000 farmers, is now accepting applications for the 2026 Grains Innovation Fund. The fund offers grants up to $75,000 to support innovative projects that promote the use of Ontario’s grains such as... Read this article online

Premier Equipment Acquires Green Tractors Dealers

Friday, July 25, 2025

Southwestern Ontario’s Premier Equipment has reached an agreement to acquire neighbouring dealer Green Tractors Inc. This acquisition marks Premier’s fourth and largest acquisition in 2025, solidifying its growth trajectory. Earlier this year, Premier added new locations in... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top