Apiculture & Honey Farming News
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Ontario Releases Draft Pollinator Protection Health Action Plan
On January 22, 2016, Ontario released for consultation a draft Health Action Plan (Plan) to reduce losses of honeybees and other pollinators caused by several “stressors” stated in the Plan to include: (1) reduced habitat and poor nutrition; (2) diseases, pests, and genetics; (3) exposure to pesticides; and (4) extreme weather and climate change. This action plan is part of a broader ...
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Pesticides may harm wild bees but natural areas can mitigate effects
The use of pesticides in orchards may be threatening populations of wild bees, which are important pollinators that increase crop productivity, a new study concludes. However, the damage was mitigated in areas where the orchards were surrounded by natural landscapes, such as deciduous forests. Pollinators, such as bees, provide an important and often underappreciated ecosystem service to ...
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Bayer welcomes the U.S. National Pollinator Strategy as a concerted approach to improve pollinator health
Bayer welcomes the National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators published by the U.S. President’s Pollinator Task Force on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. “Bees are important pollinators in modern and sustainable agriculture. The U.S. strategy to improve pollinator health is a reasoned and multi-faceted approach,” said Annette Schuermann, Head of the Bayer ...
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Warning from European Academies of Science about implications of neonicotinoid use
A joint report to the European Commission from the Academies of Science in the EU Member States concludes that there is rapidly increasing scientific evidence that neonicotinoids have a significant negative impact on the natural environment. Some of the organisms affected fulfil important functions in agricultural areas, for example, the wild pollinators and the predatory insects which can play ...
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Partnering is key to improve bee health
The “Bayer’s Perspective on Innovation 2014” international press forum held in Leverkusen, Germany, was the venue for the launch of the company’s first bee health magazine, “BEENOW”. The magazine presents Bayer’s efforts to unite partners from around the world, including research institutes and universities, beekeepers, farmers and industry partners, to ...
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EPA and USDA to Hold Public Listening Sessions on Pollinator Strategy
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host two public listening sessions to solicit stakeholder input to assist the Pollinator Health Task Force in development of a federal strategy to protect honey bees and other pollinators. The Task Force is asking for input on the types of activities that could be part of the strategy, including ...
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Canadian Beekeepers Sue Neonicotinoid Makers Bayer, Syngenta for C$450 Million
Canadian beekeepers have filed a class action lawsuit against Bayer CropScience Inc. and Syngenta Canada Inc. claiming C$450 million ($414 million) in damages for negligence related to the use of neonicotinoid insecticides. The lawsuit, which also names the firms' foreign parents—Germany-based Bayer AG and Switzerland-based Syngenta International AG—claims chronic effects of the use ...
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European bees are at their best health level in years as overwintering losses of colonies sink to record low
European bees are much healthier than many recent media publications appear to suggest. New field data from nearly 400,000 bee colonies from 21 countries in Europe and the Mediterranean show that overwintering losses of honey bee colonies – an important indicator of general bee health – were at their lowest level in years in 2013/2014. “It is great to see that our bees have ...
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Governments Invest $7 Million into Crop Research
Today Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart and Member of Parliament Kelly Block (Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar), on behalf of Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, announced nearly $7 million in funding for 46 crop-related research projects. “Our Government is proud to support crop research projects that benefit Saskatchewan farmers through improved yields and disease ...
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EPA Funds LSU Study to Protect Bees from Pesticides
Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will present a grant for more than $167,000 to Dr. Kristen Healy of the Louisiana State University AgCenter at a ceremony on Wednesday, January 8. The grant will fund a study to assess the impact of mosquito-control methods on honey bees. The study will look at development and application of insecticides used to control adult mosquito ...
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Conference Set Oct. 30 on Farm Bill; Coalition Seeks Bee Protection Provision
A coalition of 58 environmental organizations, grower groups and businesses sent a letter to members of the farm bill conference committee urging the House and Senate conferees to include House-passed pollinator protection language in any compromise version of the farm bill reached by the committee. The letter, sent Oct. 23 by the Center for Food Safety, Greenpeace, the National Farmers Union ...
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Syngenta submits legal challenge to EU suspension of thiamethoxam
Syngenta has submitted a legal challenge to the European Commission’s decision to suspend the use of thiamethoxam on bee attractive crops. The Commission took the decision on the basis of a flawed process, an inaccurate and incomplete assessment by the European Food Safety Authority and without the full support of EU Member States. Syngenta Chief Operating Officer, John Atkin, said: ...
By Syngenta
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New Pesticide Labels Will Better Protect Bees and Other Pollinators
In an ongoing effort to protect bees and other pollinators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed new pesticide labels that prohibit use of some neonicotinoid pesticide products where bees are present. “Multiple factors play a role in bee colony declines, including pesticides. The Environmental Protection Agency is taking action to protect bees from pesticide ...
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Greenpeace welcomes another step in taking action on bee-killing pesticide
A European Commission proposal to restrict the use of a pesticide that has been shown to kill bees received the support of a strong majority of EU country representatives today. 23 EU member states voted in favour of a partial ban on the chemical, with only 2 against and 3 abstaining [1]. Greenpeace believes that the proposed ban will not be enough to allow for bee recovery and that only a full ...
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Proposal for Restriction of Neonicotinoid Products in the EU
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By Acta Group
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Bayer CropScience Breaks Ground on North American Bee Care Center
As part of its continued commitment to honey bee health, today Bayer CropScience broke ground on its North American Bee Care Center, a recognition of the importance of these pollinators to agriculture. Senior company managers, bee health experts and representatives from the community were on hand to begin work on the new facility, approximately a 6,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building which ...
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Decision to restrict use of neonicotinoid-containing products will not improve bee health
Despite failing to achieve a qualified majority in the Appeal Committee, the European Commission has announced a restriction on the use of neonicotinoid-containing products on bee-attractive crops, a decision that Bayer CropScience considers disproportionate and one that distracts attention away from the real issues surrounding poor bee health. Only around half of the member states voted for the ...
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Regulatory Developments: Proposal for Restriction of Neonicotinoid Products in the EU
The European Union (EU) voted April 29, 2013, on a proposal to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid substances for agricultural uses. The substances are clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. The proposal failed to gain sufficient support from the 27 EU Member States Appeal Committee and was passed to the European Commission (EC), which has confirmed that the proposal will be adopted in ...
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USDA and EPA Release New Report on Honey Bee Health
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health. The report states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure. "There is an important link between the health of American ...
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USDA, EPA and Stakeholders to Discuss New Report on Honey Bee Health
Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Bob Perciasepe, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alongside top scientists and stakeholders, will host a conference call tomorrow to discuss a new report on the factors contributing to decline in honey bee health in the United States. The report summarizes the latest science ...
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