Dotted blazingstar (Liatris punctata) is a native plant species especially attractive to pollinating bumblebees.

Video: Exhibit shows pollination isn’t only done by bees

Museum curator Diana Bizecki Robson hopes it helps public deepen their understanding 
of all types of pollinators and to take actions that help these organisms thrive

account_id=”2206156280001″ player_id=”ryGLIkmv”] Diana Bizecki Robson is the Manitoba Museum’s curator of botany who created the Prairie pollination exhibit to help enhance public appreciation of all types of wild pollinators, and motivate people to make positive changes to save them.[/caption] Bizecki Robson has spent a decade researching Prairie pollinators and their habitats, helping make new discoveries

photo: thinkstock

The neonic debate: science or sensationalism?

Laying the blame for a collection of environmental issues at the feet of a 
single technology is very convenient, but hugely overly simplistic

Bold, apocalyptic headlines make for great front-page news stories, there’s no question. Unfortunately, when it comes to highly complex and scientific issues, these kinds of headlines usually do a disservice to the topic at hand. Scientific research is filled with intricacies and rarely yields answers that can be conveyed in a single headline. Far too


Pesticide labels and our reputation

Pesticide labels and our reputation

The costly consequences of breaking the rules

Will Rogers once said, “It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute.” That is a quote that applies to every part of the Canadian grain industry, including farmers. Canada has a strong reputation for consistently delivering high-quality grains, oilseeds and special crops to our domestic and

healthy groceries, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and vegetables

Study documents benefits of organic farming

Organic crops had 18 to 69 per cent higher concentrations of antioxidant compounds meaning consumers get more nutrition per calorie

Washington State University – The largest study of its kind has found that organic foods and crops have a suite of advantages over their conventional counterparts, including more antioxidants and fewer, less frequent pesticide residues. The study looked at an unprecedented 343 peer-reviewed publications comparing the nutritional quality and safety of organic and conventional plant-based


Children's play structure in a playground

Cosmetics pesticide use will be history by 2015 in Manitoba

Critics have little confidence in Health Canada reviews of pesticides because its assessments 
are based on data supplied by industry

The Manitoba government has moved forward on its pledge to introduce legislation banning the use of synthetic chemical pesticides on school, daycare and hospital grounds, as well as on lawns. The legislation, which is expected to take effect in 2015, does not affect golf courses, agriculture or forestry, but cosmetic pesticide use will be restricted

U.S. proposes new safety rules for farm pesticide use

The U.S. EPA wants to better protect approximately two million farm workers from exposure to pesticides

Farm workers, children and other people working or living near farm fields would have more protection from hazardous pesticides under changes proposed on Feb. 20 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Today marks an important milestone for the farm workers who plant, tend and harvest the food that we put on our tables each day,”


Farm group fingers agency for slow introduction of generic pesticides

Farmers of North America say Canada’s overly onerous regulations mean cheaper generic 
farm chemicals are hard to find north of the U.S. border

Afederal agency that’s supposed to help farmers get their hands on cheaper generic pesticides is instead throwing up roadblocks to their introduction, according to critics. Ottawa introduced regulatory changes three years ago to speed up the introduction of generic versions of off-patent pesticides, but the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency “has not bought into that agenda,”

Noxious weed control to be strengthened in Manitoba

Keystone Agricultural Producers’ president Doug Chorney is anxious to see details on how the Manitoba government will better protect farmland from noxious weeds as part of its ban on cosmetic pesticides. “I am encouraged by that, but we want to make sure that is the case,” Chorney said July 3 in an interview. “It’s important


CropChatter: When do I worry about herbicide injury?

The 2013 growing season hasn’t exactly been setting records for heat so far, so some growers may be stuck trying to balance optimal temperatures with their chosen herbicide’s recommended application timings. Crop injury in some situations may be unavoidable, since both temperature and incorrect crop staging affect crop tolerance to herbicides. But not all injury

Treated corn seed linked to bee kills, Health Canada urges farmers to use best practices

Government issues list of 25 best practices to lower the risk of contamination 
instead of following Europe’s lead and banning neonicotinoid insecticides

Another round of “bee incidents” last year has prompted Health Canada to issue an updated list of mitigation measures to corn farmers who may have inadvertently killed the pollinators. A severe death rate during planting season in 2012 has been linked to a dry spell and widespread use of nitro-guanidine neonicotinoid insecticides on corn seed.