The organisation representing the province's grain farmers seems to be hardening it's stand against the government's pollinator health proposals.
Grain Farmers of Ontario representatives gave statements to the government at this week's industry consultation session.
Then they left.
A GFO statement says the consultation session was to discuss the implementation of the proposed regulations - not to discuss their practicality.
The statement goes on to say Grain Farmers of Ontario will not have any part of discussing the implementation of what it calls unscientific, ill-informed regulations that will put the Ontario grain industry in what GFO argues will be a dire situation.
The group argues the proposals do not focus on pollinator health and bee keeping practices, are not conducive to environmental stewardship and are positioned to end family farming across the province.
Grain Farmers of Ontario has set up a Pollinator Task Force with a number of stakeholders, including bee keepers.
The task force will consult farmers across the province in January and provide that feedback to the provincial government.
The Grain Farmers of Ontario statement calls on the government to abandon the proposed seed treatment regulations in favour of an approach that will work for the complexities of both grain farming and bee keeping in the province.
