Bayer CropScience’s insect expert to speak on bees and neonics at Quinte farm show

QUINTE — Bayer CropScience’s leading North American insect expert will be at the Quinte Farm and Trade Show on Feb. 12 to talk about neonicotinoids and their impact on bees.

Dick Rogers, who heads up the North American Bee Care Center in North Carolina, will give a talk called “the best of both worlds: healthy crops and healthy bees.” Rogers, who got his beekeeping start in Nova Scotia and studied entomology at McGill University, will provide the science behind neonics, say farm show organizers.

The North American Bee Care Center opened in April of 2014 with the goal of promoting improved honey bee health, sustainable agriculture and product stewardship.

The free event starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Trenton, with a trade show running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Other topics include:

• Ontario Apple Growers chair Charles Stevens speaking about the industry’s take on neonics;

• Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association’s Eric Lawlor on the educational programs and funding opportunities in the Growing Forward 2 program;

• Lallemand Animal Nutrition’s Ross Gill on getting the most out of your silage; and

• DairyLogix’s Jack Rodenburg about the economics of the robotic dairy herd.