The federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency says there is an economic benefit from the use of neonic seed treatments for the country's corn and soybean growers.
A report released by the agency this week suggests the corn industry benefit ranges from 74 point 2 to 83 point 3 million dollars.
It puts the soybean benefits lower - ranging from 37 point 3 to 51 million dollars.
The report says the majority of the corn benefits appear to be in Ontario, while the soybean benefits are primarily in Ontario and Manitoba.
The PMRA says it's value assessment is part of the overall re-evaluation of neonicotinoid pesticides being carried out in close collaboration with the U-S Environmental Protection Agency.
The chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario - Mark Brock - says that report lines up with what his organisation has been saying over the past few y ears.
Brock says GFO continues to struggle with the Ontario government's seed treatment regulations, suggesting the PMRA eport shows there's a significant and sometimes critical need for neonic seed treatments for the province's corn and soybean crops.
The value assessment has been posted on the PMRA website and is open to comments until March 6th.
Another report posted this week is the Preliminary Pollinator Assessment.
It's not a complete report - the agency says it plans to finalise that report by January 18th - at which point it will also be open for public comment for 60 days.
According to that initial report, there is no potential risk to bees from seed treatment use.
It does see potential risk to bees for some soil treatments.
