Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52JULY MARKED THE first full year of operation under Ontario regulations on insecticide treated seed. The regu- lations, implemented in July 2015 for the 2016 planting season, were the first phase of a system designed to curb the use of seed treated with neonicotinoid insecticides. The goal of the regulatory system is to “reduce the number of acres planted with neonicotinoid corn and soybean seed by 80 per cent by the year 2017.” Stephen Denys, director of business management at Maizex Seeds, says: “Despite some challenges, everybody tried to be in compliance with the new regulations.” Most of the onus fell on seed com- panies and retailers. “Seed companies were generally responsible for educa- tion and information prior to the imple- mentation of the regulations, and were also responsible for the implementation of the system,” he notes. “We had to put in place new information systems and create entirely new paper trails. It was quite onerous.” The regulations classify corn and soybean seed treated with imidaclo- prid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam as Class 12 pesticides. Anyone who sells, offers to sell or transfers Class 12 pesticides must hold a vendor’s license. Sales representatives who facilitate the sale of Class 12 pesticides don’t need licenses, but they must have training on the regulations and carry vendor identification. Working with the University of Guelph, the Government of Ontario developed an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) training course for growers who wish to purchase Class 12 Business-critical information for retailers selling seed and seed treatment products. WHAT'S THE BUZZ? pesticides. The course includes training on the importance of pollinators in the ecosystem and how to protect them from pesticide exposure. It also includes training on identifying pests, pest scouting methods and on alterna- tives to pesticides. While the IPM course was not mandatory for the 2016 grow- ing season, Gary Wheeler of the Communications Division of the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) says the uptake was good. “As of Aug. 31, approximately 10,000 people com- pleted IPM training, which included approximately 9,600 farmers,” he says. “Anyone successfully completing the training receives a certificate number. A certificate number will be required to purchase Class 12 pesti- cides after Aug. 31, 2016.” For the 2016 growing season, grow- ers who wanted to purchase and plant corn or soybean seed treated with a neonicotinoid insecticide were required to complete additional paperwork. If they wanted to plant less than 50 per cent of their corn or soybean acres (a separate report for each commodity), they were required to confirm in writing that they were not buying or using more than was required to plant that acreage. A Seed Amount Declaration had to be provided to the seed vendor, vendor sales representative or the custom seed treater before they could obtain neonicotinoid treated seed. A separate calculation was required for each commodity. Growers who wanted to plant neo- nicotinoid treated seed on more than 50 per cent of their corn or soybean acres were required to complete a pest assessment report. This year, growers were able to do their own assessments but they had to be done in accordance with the guidelines established by the regulations. The assessment reports had to be presented to the seed vendor, vendor representative or custom seed treater before they could obtain neoni- cotinoid treated seed. The Results Wheeler says it’s too early to tell whether the regulations had an impact on the acreage planted to neonicoti- noid treated corn and soybean seed. “Vendors were required to submit both neonicotinoid treated and non-treated corn and soybean seed sales data to the ministry by Oct. 31,” he says. “The data will help estimate the acreage of treated seed used for the 2015-16 growing year. The ministry is aiming to release a summary of this data by early February 2017.” Experts provide their assessment of regulations on insecticide treated seed. 24