Rick Karlin reports in the Times Union that there is a bill in the New York legislature that would ban a widely used form of pesticide-treated seeds, that are harmful to bees and other beneficial insects, but that some farmers oppose. “Neonics have been our tool to control the challenging bugs,” said Brad Macauley, a Livingston County farmer. Neonicotinoids are a class of pesticides that disrupt the nervous systems of insects to prevent crop damage. Environmentalists and supporters of the bill say a Cornell University study in 2020 found that the substance poses a risk to bees but not using it doesn’t subtract from net farm profits. Some farmers say non-treated seeds are hard to find as most seed makers tailor their products for major crop states in the Midwest, though that could change if demand from a large state such as New York increases. Read more about this story in the Times Union.