A sprayer moves through a crop with mist visible beneath its booms.

Feds to change pesticide oversight

The federal government is adopting a new way to manage pesticides, which seems to give a larger role to Environment and Climate Change Canada. On June 20, the government announced the next steps toward a “sustainable approach to pesticides management.” In the past, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency was responsible for pesticide regulation in […] Read more

A modern sprayer sprays crops in a field on a sunny day.

Feds’ lambda-cy ruling is unworkable

Canada is the only G20 country to have made a food/feed distinction like this. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did a full review of lambda-cyhalothrin in 2019, around the same time as the PMRA started theirs, but the U.S. did not restrict feed. 


Close-up of a single, flowering, canola plant in canola field.

Caution advised when controlling flea beetles

Canola growers must know for sure their crops won’t be used as livestock feed before using lambda-cyhalothrin this year

Effective April 29, it is illegal to apply lambda-cyhalothrin products to canola and other crops that will be used as livestock feed in Canada.






A Richardson's ground squirrel stands on its hind legs and eats the seeds from the head of a bent over wheat stalk.

Loss of strychnine a long time coming

Pesticide was deregistered from 1992-2001, and the process to ban the product began again in 2020 after a 2018 review

The pesticide, registered in 1928, had already been deregistered from 1992 to 2001 over environmental concerns and a 2018 review found the same issues with the potential for secondary poisoning.


From 1992 to 2001, strychnine wasn’t registered and the Richardson’s ground squirrel population exploded, causing millions of dollars in losses to hay, pasture and cropland. Chemicals used at the time didn’t work, leaving farmers to try to shoot as many gophers as they could.  |  File photo

Prairie farm groups vow to fight PMRA strychnine ban

Agricultural producers across Saskatchewan and Alberta are angry about Health Canada’s decision to de-register the use of two percent liquid strychnine to control Richardson’s ground squirrels. They say there is no safer alternative available. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency released its re-evaluation decision last week. It had been reviewing the use of strychnine for this […] Read more

Pierre Petelle, president and CEO of CropLife Canada, said it is unreasonable to expect a farmer to suddenly scrap his pest management plan the minute the PMRA issues a ruling. | File photo

Pesticide label change transition times upheld

Environmental groups had argued the PMRA didn’t have the ability to phase in changes it made to product registrations

Pierre Petelle is breathing a sigh of relief in the wake of a Federal Court ruling reaffirming the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s authority to set phase-in periods for amended pesticide registrations. “We’re very pleased with the outcome because it would have been tremendously impactful,” said the president of CropLife Canada. The David Suzuki Foundation, Friends […] Read more


International trade is becoming increasingly complicated when it comes to maximum residue limits (MRL). The PMRA is the federal agency that helps Canadian trade teams work through MRL concerns with trading partners.  | Robin Booker photo

Ag Drag

PMRA’s decision to reduce international engagement when it comes to MRLs could impede Canadian agricultural exports.

Health Canada is under pressure from Agriculture Canada and the standing committee on agriculture and the standing committee on finance to change how the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) operates. Farm groups have lobbied the government for the PMRA to take their needs into consideration because the agency’s activity has significant bearing on the agriculture […] Read more

The response was fast and furious when Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency announced in late March that 2,4-D is safe and doesn’t cause cancer.
 | File photo

PMRA denies ‘incompetence’, explains 2,4-D review

Official with Canada’s regulatory agency explains the evaluation process that led to the chemical being deemed safe

The response was fast and furious when Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency announced in late March that 2,4-D is safe and doesn’t cause cancer. Many Canadians, at least those with little faith in Health Canada, went online to vent their fury. A Western Producer story on Health Canada and its special review of 2,4-D, […] Read more