Beyond neonic seed treatments Will Trudell, vice president, De Dell Seeds Inc., a London seed company offering non-GMO corn hybrids, says growers may discover limited use of neonics isn’t all bad. He says De Dell never officially adopted neonics as the company’s standard seed treatment, but it was available to customers as an option until this year. The decision to eliminate neonics altogether in 2016 was an easy one to make. “When the legislation was being introduced, we did some number crunching and found that only 1.6 per cent of our business was leaving with neonic-based insecticide on it, so we decided it wasn’t worth it,” says Trudell. “There are other insecticide seed treatment options that aren’t neonic-based.” Wayne Black, national brand manager, PROSeeds, says it’s true growers have plenty of options available to them. He says his compa- ny will offer seed treatment options to suit the regulatory environment. The key, Black says, is in having time to research options. “I think this past year, a lot of growers didn’t feel comfortable with going to a different seed treatment right away,” says Black. “For 2017, growers will be able to make smarter decisions about what they need for their farm.” For corn growers, one option is DuPont Pioneer’s new Lumivia insecticide seed treatment. Rachel Faust, technical marketing manager for DuPont Pioneer, says Lumivia will be available across Pioneer’s entire lineup for Ontario and Quebec in 2017. “DuPont Lumivia is a broad spectrum insecticide with similar protection on the key below ground secondary insects such as wireworm and seedcorn maggot,” says Faust. Lumivia, which was approved for use in Canada in 2016, contains the active ingredient DuPont Rynaxypyr, a novel Group 28, anthranilic di- amide insecticide. Denys, who is also director of business management with Maizex Seeds Inc., says non-Class 12 seed treatments look promising for corn, but soybeans still lack a viable alternative. “We do see life after neonics in corn. But in soybeans neonics are still an important tool,” says Denys. Denys suggested reduced access to neonic-treated seeds can shoulder some of the blame for another common problem in fields across the province in 2016: variable stands. “We’ve seen variable stands this year depending on when growers planted,” Denys says. “Some of that is due to insect pressure and some of it is due to cold, wet soils. Those that went with a fungicide-only treated seed in many cases faced high insect pressure that reduced both stand count and stand uniformity, given wireworm in corn and seedcorn maggot in soybeans.” agriculture.newholland.com/us Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Campbellford • 705-653-3700 Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Lindsay • 705-324-2221 Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Sunderland • 705-357-3121 Delta Power Equipment Mitchell • 519-348-8467 Delta Power Equipment St. Marys • 519-349-2180 Delta Power Equipment St. Thomas • 519-631-5280 Delta Power Equipment Tavistock • 519-655-2441 Delta Power Equipment Tilbury • 519-682-9090 Delta Power Equipment Watford • 519-849-2744 Ebert Welding Ltd. New Liskeard • 705-647-6896 ESM Farm Equipment Ltd. Wallenstein • 519-669-5176 Gateview Equipment Ltd. Kingston • 613-544-6363 Halnor Farm Equipment Ltd. Waterford • 519-443-8622 Maxville Farm Machinery Ltd. Maxville • 613-527-2834 McCauley Equipment Sales Orillia • 705-325-4424 McGavin Farm Supply Ltd. Walton • 519-887-6365 Oneida New Holland Caledonia • 905-765-5011 Regional Tractor Sales Ltd. Freelton • 905-659-1094 Richards Equipment Inc. Barrie • 705-721-5530 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Chesley • 519-363-3192 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Lucknow • 519-529-7995 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Mount Forest • 519-323-2755 Smiths Farm Equipment (Jasper) Ltd. Jasper • 613-283-1758 St. Catharines New Holland Ltd. St. Catharines • 905-688-5160 Stewart’s Equipment Erin • 519-833-9616 Weagant Farm Supplies Ltd. Winchester • 613-774-2887 HURRY IN TODAY – THESE OFFERS END SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 EQUIPPED FOR A NEW WORLD ™ SEED REPORT