University receives first donation towards new beneficial insect health centre Tuesday, May 6, 2014 by SUSAN MANN The University of Guelph has received the first donation towards a new Centre for Beneficial Insect Health that it is developing. Bayer CropScience Inc. has donated $750,000 towards the project. Lori Bona Hunt, the university’s communications and public affairs director, says by email the university approached Bayer for the donation “with the proposed centre flagged as a priority.” She adds Bayer agreed to have its donation used for the centre, which is being set up through the Environmental Sciences School. The centre is “in the development stages,” she says, adding she wasn’t sure when it would be up and running. The centre’s work will have an emphasis on sustainable pest management in agriculture, including projects on field and horticultural crops, greenhouse production, insecticide resistance and biological insect control, the university’s May 5 press release says. The diversity and numbers of insect pollinators are falling globally due to a number of factors, including disease, pesticide exposure, malnutrition, habitat loss and climate change, the release says. In Canada, 28 species of butterflies and moths and two bee species are known to be at risk. Pollinators are vital to agriculture. Of approximately 300 crops used for food, fodder and fibre worth more than $200 billion a year, about 80 per cent need pollinators to set seeds and fruit, the release says. Ontario Agricultural College dean Rob Gordon, says in the release the donation will help the university find innovative ways to improve pest management systems while safe guarding pollinators and promoting a productive agricultural industry. The donation from Bayer compliments an earlier donation of $3 million from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation that helped the university establish a chair in pollinator conservation to be held by Nigel Raine of Britain. Bona Hunt says Bayer’s donation, made to the university’s BetterPlanet Project, is one of the largest donations to the project. Some of the other large contributions are in the range of $3 to $5 million. The BetterPlanet Project is the university’s fundraising campaign for teaching and research in food, environment, health and communities. BF MNR explores long term exemption for agriculture from habitat protection provisions Canada's pullet growers denied marketing agency
Pilot project supports Ontario and Quebec ag Friday, July 24, 2026 A new two-year pilot project is designed to help livestock farmers in Quebec by giving them access to an Ontario abattoir. The project, a collaboration between the Quebec and Ontario governments, with additional support from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), would see a limited... Read this article online
Canada Opens Interprovincial Alcohol Sales Thursday, July 23, 2026 A major change to Canada's internal marketplace is set to create new opportunities for wineries, breweries and distilleries after nine provinces signed a landmark agreement allowing direct-to-consumer sales of alcoholic beverages across participating jurisdictions. The deal is being hailed... Read this article online
Heat and Rain have led to a challenging growing season for Cauliflower Growers in Ontario. Thursday, July 23, 2026 There are only 1,225 acres dedicated to growing cauliflower in Ontario, but they produce 14,545,000 lbs of the vegetable. Growers across key vegetable-producing regions are preparing for increased shipments of locally grown cauliflower to grocery stores, restaurants, wholesalers and... Read this article online
Who Knew so Much Canadian Watermelon is Grown in Ontario Thursday, July 23, 2026 Many consumers may think of watermelon as an exotic fruit, but Ontario grows about2,000 acresof watermelons each year, more than 35,084tonnesof watermelon.Watermelonharvest now is underway. Watermelon originated in northeastern Africa, particularly in the region that today includes Sudan... Read this article online
Ontario Farmers Harvest One of Canada’s Top Carrot Crops Wednesday, July 22, 2026 Carrots are among Ontario's most important vegetable crops, contributing significantly to local food production and year-round fresh produce availability. Ontario grows the most carrots of any Canadian province – 45% of the country’s carrots. According to Statistics Canada, Ontario... Read this article online