Proposed Growers Requested Own Use regulations clamp down on uncooperative companies Wednesday, July 18, 2012 by SUSAN MANNHealth Canada’s proposal to include the Grower Requested Own Use program in its Pest Control Products Regulations will add teeth to the program by ensuring the product manufacturers play by the rules, says a crop protection specialist.Craig Hunter, crop protection and research specialist with the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, says up until now the program has been operating on a gentlemen’s agreement. The program allows Canadian growers to import the American version of a Canadian registered product if it’s available to their competitors south of the border at a lower price. Including the program in the regulations will enable the government to impose sanctions on companies refusing to cooperate.“We’ve had a few companies that just stonewalled the process and wouldn’t provide their data and wouldn’t agree to share,” he explains. The proposal is giving “us exactly what we’ve been asking for all along. It’s actually pretty good from our perspective,” he says.Administered by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), the Grower Requested Own Use program has been in place for the past three years. The products in the program must be purchased and imported by the grower for use on their land and for that growing season. Canadian scientists evaluate products before they’re accepted in the program to identify any chemical differences that may lead to increased health or environmental risks.Hunter says the association is working with the Canadian Horticultural Council and will submit farm group comments from a national perspective. But he says he’s gone through the proposal and personally thinks there is very little change that’s necessary.Comments on the proposed amendments are due by Sept. 21 and can be submitted to PMRA regulatory affairs. BF Group agrees to dismantle fertilizer plant blockade Ontario farmers plant soybeans after wheat harvest
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The case of the mysterious cabbage dump Wednesday, November 27, 2024 According to an article from www.PelhamToday.ca, someone dumped a load of cabbage on the property of Wilowhead Family Farm in Elora, Ontario. The cabbages were all cut in half—and no, the farm nor its neighbours were expecting a delivery. Checking security cameras, the farm... Read this article online
Drew Spoelstra re-elected OFA president Wednesday, November 27, 2024 Drew Spoelstra has been re-elected to a second one-year term as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). Spoelstra is a dairy and crop farmer from Binbrook in the southeast corner of the city of Hamilton, Ontario. He has been on the OFA board as the director,... Read this article online