(Photo from University of Guelph)(Photo from University of Guelph)
Sarnia

GFO Led Group Publishes It's Pollinator Health Blueprint

The Pollinator Task Force has shared it's Ontario Pollinator Health Blueprint with the provincial government.

The Task Force was spearheaded by Grain Farmers of Ontario.

It included beekeepers, farmers and value-chain stakeholders.

GFO Chair Mark Brock says the Blueprint delivers the necessary elements for the long-term success of pollinators alongside agriculture.

GFO calls it a practical and sustainable alternative to what the Ontario government is proposing.

It identifies five key areas to enhance the health of the province's pollinators, including habitat and nutrition and pesticide exposure.

The other key areas are diseases and parasites, communication between beekeepers and farmers and verification and collection protocols for insects.

Brock says the plan demonstrates that, through cooperation, positive relationships and outcomes can be achieved.

Grain Farmers of Ontario refused to formally take part in the consultation process around the government's pollinator health proposals.

Those proposals included an 80 per cent reduction in the use of neonic pesticides.

GFO officials had promised they would, instead, produce an alternative solution.

The Ontario Pollinator Health Blueprint is that alternative.

The full blueprint is on the GFO website.

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