Latest Agribusiness Headlines

All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Lawsuit Says Dairy Company is Misrepresenting Hawaii Links

Dec 6 2021 // A food distributor in Hawaii has filed a federal lawsuit against a dairy company because milk from the mainland is allegedly being sold under a name that advertises local ties. The lawsuit filed by Hawaii Foodservice...

USDA Revises Rules on Crop Insurance for Hemp Producers

Dec 3 2021 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture is changing some rules around crop insurance for hemp, including making the insurability requirements more flexible. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has also added a new...

Severe Australia Floods to Worsen, Raising Costs to Farmers

Dec 3 2021 // Severe flooding episodes across vast swathes of eastern Australia this week show no signs of relenting as costs to farmers continue to mount, with another bout of heavy rain on course to hit the already sodden growing...

Hundreds of Thousands of Farm Animals Perish in Canada Floods

Dec 3 2021 // Hundreds of thousands of livestock have perished in floodwaters in Canada’s westernmost province, the British Columbia government said Thursday. Back-to-back deluges from atmospheric rivers have damaged major...

Lawsuit Says Dairy Company is Misrepresenting Hawaii Links

Nov 29 2021 // A food distributor in Hawaii has filed a federal lawsuit against a dairy company because milk from the mainland is allegedly being sold under a name that advertises local ties. The lawsuit filed by Hawaii Foodservice...

Japan’s Fukushima Farmers Fear Contaminated Water Release Will Hit Produce Prices

Nov 5 2021 // IWAKI, Japan – Farmers in Japan’s northeastern Fukushima fear the release of water from the crippled power plant there could revive concerns about contamination and again hit the price of their produce, undoing a...

California Labor Shortage Compounding Complex Agriculture Landscape for Insurance Pros

Nov 1 2021 // The labor shortage in California has hit the agriculture industry particularly hard, creating a tougher environment all around – including for insurance professionals who deal in that sector. The lack of labor in the...

Indiana Farm Bureau Offers $10K Reward for Information on Barn Arsons

Oct 26 2021 // A reward is being offered as investigators try to find whoever has set at least a dozen barn fires at northern Indiana farms this year. The Farm Bureau groups in Elkhart, Kosciusko, St. Joseph and Marshall counties created...

AM Best Drops Florida Farm Bureau Outlook to Negative After Surplus Declines

Oct 21 2021 // Credit-rating agency AM Best has downgraded its outlook for Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Co., from stable to negative, due to the company’s declining surplus in a disaster-prone state. “The revised outlooks...

USDA: New Insurance Policy Aimed at Helping Small Farms

Oct 18 2021 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is rolling out a new insurance option specifically for small farms that sell their products locally. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) created this new policy based on...

Agriculture Department Readying Waivers to Address Pork Plants’ Processing Speed

Oct 8 2021 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working on a proposal for a waiver system for hog plants forced by a federal court to slow processing lines, Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday. Waivers to allow plants to speed up...

USDA: New Insurance Policy Will Help Farmers Who Sell Locally

Oct 7 2021 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is rolling out a new insurance option specifically for agricultural producers with small farms who sell locally. USDA said the new Micro Farm policy simplifies record keeping and...

California FAIR Plan Files to Offer Property Coverage to Farms

Oct 6 2021 // The California FAIR Plan Association announced on Wednesday it has submitted a farm product rate filing to the California Department of Insurance ahead of a 90-day deadline. The deadline to make the filing was imposed in...

Judge Questions Army Corps’ Clean Water Act Decision on Indiana Dairy Farm; Orders Review

Oct 6 2021 // A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review its decision that a dairy farm built in northwest Indiana to house more than 4,000 cows is not subject to the Clean Water Act. Environmental groups and...

Colorado Dairy Fined over Worker’s Death in Manure Pit

Oct 4 2021 // A dairy in northern Colorado has been fined nearly $25,000 after the death of a worker whose truck slipped into a pit filled with liquid manure. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Shelton Land and...

Ida Damage to Louisiana Agriculture at Least $584M

Oct 4 2021 // Hurricane Ida’s winds and floods did at least $584 million in damage to agriculture in Louisiana, experts at the LSU AgCenter estimate. More than half of that — $315.9 million — is timber damage, with...

MS Amlin AG Enters Agriculture Reinsurance Market, Hiring Bektleuov From PartnerRe

Sep 29 2021 // MS Amlin AG (MS AAG), the global reinsurer, announced its entry into the agriculture reinsurance market with the hire of Rinat Bektleuov as product group lead underwriter. Bektleuov joined the business in August 2021 and...

AgCenter: Ida Damage to Louisiana Agriculture at Least $584M

Sep 27 2021 // Hurricane Ida’s winds and floods did at least $584 million in damage to agriculture in Louisiana, experts at the LSU AgCenter estimate. More than half of that — $315.9 million — is timber damage, with another...

3 South Dakota Family Members Sentenced for Defrauding Farmers

Sep 23 2021 // Three members of a South Dakota family accused of bilking millions from farmers due to risky speculation in the grain business have been sentenced to time behind bars. Jared Steffensen and his wife, Tami Steffensen,...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Files Agribusiness in Louisiana

Sep 21 2021 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Bastrop, La.-based Files Agribusiness LLC, retail insurance agency specializing in federal crop insurance, agribusiness property/casualty and agricultural aviation coverages. Terms of...