Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lawsuit Seeking Greater Protections for Washington Farmworkers
Apr 20 2020 // Advocates for farm workers in Washington state have filed a lawsuit against the state seeking safer working conditions as the harvest season begins amid a coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of workers are already pruning...
Tyson Foods: 2 Iowa Pork Plant Employees Dead After Virus Outbreak
Apr 17 2020 // Two employees have died following a coronavirus outbreak that has sickened scores of Tyson Foods workers at a large pork plant in southeastern Iowa, the company said. The deaths of the workers at Tyson plant in Columbus...
Damage to Iowa Ag Industry from Virus Will Be Huge, Economists Say
Apr 16 2020 // A group of agriculture economists said on April 15 the coronavirus pandemic will cause billions of dollars in damage to Iowa’s crop and livestock industries. In a report released from Iowa State University’s...
Farmers in California Names Conte Head of Exclusive Agent Distribution
Apr 15 2020 // Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Farmers Insurance has named Krista Conte head of exclusive agent distribution. Conte joins Farmers after more than 15 years at Allstate, where she was most recently field vice president in the...
Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee to Distribute $30M to Policyholders
Apr 15 2020 // Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee said it will issue $30 million in special payments to its auto policyholders in the state in response to economic stresses caused by the coronavirus emergency. The special payment is...
Meat Plant Closures, Absenteeism Rise With Workers’ Fear of Coronavirus, Lack of Safety
Apr 15 2020 // CHICAGO/WINNIPEG, Manitoba — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, according to a meat...
Smithfield’s South Dakota Pork Plant Closed After 100s Test Positive for Virus
Apr 14 2020 // Virginia-based Smithfield Foods announced Sunday that it is closing its pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, until further notice after hundreds of employees tested positive for the coronavirus — a step...
GEICO, Farmers, Liberty Mutual Join Insurers Giving Breaks to Drivers, Businesses
Apr 7 2020 // More auto insureds and small businesses are getting a break on their insurance premiums to help them through the coronavirus crisis. Auto insurer GEICO said it will give back approximately $2.5 billion in the form of a 15...
A Coronavirus Outbreak Among Farm Workers Would Be Catastrophic: Viewpoint
Apr 3 2020 // There is no evidence that Covid-19 has been transmitted by food or food packaging, according to U.S. federal health agencies. How the virus fares among food workers may be a different story. By law, food manufacturers must...
Srna Named CEO at Oklahoma’s American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual
Apr 1 2020 // Oklahoma City-based American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Co. (AFRMIC) has appointed Jon D. Srna as the company’s next chief executive officer. He assumes the leadership position on April 20. Srna brings...
Wisconsin High Court Rules Against Farm Over Pay for Time Workers Spend Dressing
Mar 23 2020 // Workers can’t negotiate away their right to compensation for time spent donning and removing protective gear, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a long-running legal battle between a Jefferson County farm and its...
Southeast Insurance Regulators Issue Industry Guidance for Coronavirus Outbreak
Mar 20 2020 // Insurance departments across the Southeast are notifying industry representatives of updated procedures and expectations in response to the coronavirus outbreak, while also acknowledging the potential for a serious impact...
Cattle Ranchers Worry Despite Having Tech to Track Diseases
Mar 17 2020 // Before June 2018, finding cattle that were potentially exposed to diseases was time-consuming and complicated, requiring a patchwork of information from auction houses, feedlots, producers and meatpacking...
Despite China Deal, U.S. Farmers Still Dependent on Government Aid: Analysis
Mar 12 2020 // As U.S. President Donald Trump touted the signing of a U.S.-China trade deal in January, he told cash-strapped farmers they would soon need bigger tractors and “a little more land” to meet additional Chinese...
Return-to-Work Rates on the Rise in Texas Workers’ Comp System: Report
Mar 12 2020 // The return-to-work (RTW) rate for employees in the Texas workers’ compensation system who received temporary income benefits (TIBs) for their injuries increased by 5% over the decade from 2007 to 2017. That’s...
16 Additional North Dakota Counties Named Agriculture Disaster Areas
Mar 11 2020 // U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has designated 16 North Dakota counties as natural disaster areas due to extreme weather last year ranging from drought to excessive moisture. The announcement, combined with a...
North Dakota Creamery Recalls 1% Milk Pending State Investigation
Mar 9 2020 // Cass-Clay Creamery in North Dakota has recalled 1% milk that may have been contaminated with a sanitizing agent that’s used to sterilize and clean equipment, the state department of agriculture said Friday. The milk...
Smith to Retire from Indiana Farmers Insurance; Search on for New CEO
Mar 9 2020 // Kimberly O. Smith, J.D, president and CEO of Carmel, Indiana-based Indiana Farmers Insurance, has announced she will retire effective January 2022. The board of directors has engaged the Carlisle Group, an executive search...
One U.S. State May Look at Insurers’ Fossil Fuel Investments and Underwriting to Combat Climate Change
Mar 5 2020 // A Connecticut lawmaker has plans for a bill that not only calls for the state to look at which insurers have fossil fuel investments – a growing trend among government entities as of late – but also which ones are...
USDA Adds New Hurricane Insurance Endorsement for 2020 Crop Year
Mar 5 2020 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has implemented a new crop insurance endorsement, Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI), the agency announced. HIP-WI covers a...
