Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Pecan Farmers Fight to Save Water Supply
Nov 1 2024 // FORT STOCKTON — Zachary Swick plucked a pecan from one of the 78,000 trees at a sprawling West Texas farm — a rare sight in the desert known for oil rigs and pump jacks. He peeled away the pecan’s layers, leaving...
Washington Farm Labor Contractor Fined $140K for Withholding Info From Workers
Nov 1 2024 // A Pasco farm labor contractor faces nearly $140,000 in fines for violations uncovered during a Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigation that include withholding information from worker. According...
Missouri Farm Cooperative Fined $241K for Lacking Proper Equipment
Oct 30 2024 // A Missouri grain cooperative could have prevented an employee’s fatal engulfment in a storage bin in May 2024 had it followed federal workplace safety requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor determined. Responding...
Farm Bill Becomes Lightning Rod in Wisconsin Senate Race
Oct 30 2024 // MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde has repeatedly defended his self-professed lack of knowledge about the U.S. farm bill in the campaign’s closing days, after first saying in a...
Specialist Risk Group Acquires Bloodstock and Livestock Specialist Broker Stonehatch
Oct 30 2024 // Specialist Risk Group (SRG), the London-based insurance intermediary, announced the acquisition of Stonehatch, a leading specialist bloodstock and livestock insurance broker. Financial details of the transaction were not...
Mississippi River Dries Up Again at Worst Time for US Farmers
Oct 25 2024 // The Mississippi River is suffering from low waters for the third straight autumn, a crucial time of year when American farmers rely on the route to deliver their crops to the world. Months of limited rainfall — with few...
Hurricane Milton Caused $1.5B-$2.5B in Losses to Florida Agriculture
Oct 22 2024 // Hurricane Milton caused an estimated $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in damage to Florida’s crops and agricultural infrastructure, according to a preliminary assessment released by the state’s Department of...
Midwest Chicken Farmers Struggle to Feed Flocks After Closure of Producer
Oct 21 2024 // Dozens of farmers in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are scrambling to feed their flocks after a struggling organic broiler chicken producer abruptly closed a year after getting a $39 million federal loan. Pure Prairie...
Farm Labor Contractor to Pay Damages Over Pregnancy Discrimination Charge
Oct 18 2024 // Family Fresh Harvesting, LLC, a farm labor contractor which provides temporary H-2A visas to agricultural workers at nurseries in Michigan and farms in Georgia, entered into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Equal...
Cal/OSHA Cites Farm Labor Contractor for Serious Heat-Related Safety Violations
Oct 9 2024 // Cal/OSHA cited a farm labor contractor in Dixon for reportedly failing to protect its employees from heat illness. The inspection was opened in June after reports the employer allegedly fired farmworkers who left their...
AM Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of Texas Farm Bureau
Oct 7 2024 // AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb+” (Good) from “a-” (Excellent) of Texas...
AM Best Withdraws Credit Rating of Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. of Michigan
Oct 4 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of C++ (Marginal) and the Long-Term ICR of “b+”...
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Farmers Insurance of Flemington
Oct 2 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Farmers Insurance Company of...
Hurricane Ravages Southern Cotton Crops Just Before Harvest
Oct 2 2024 // Cotton growers are facing devastating losses and delays from Hurricane Helene just as harvest was beginning, marking the latest blow to profits in an already weak market. The storm ripped through the cotton-growing regions...
Flooded Farms, Fouled Rivers, Dozens Dead: Helene’s Rising Toll
Oct 2 2024 // As historic floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Helene recede across the US Southeast, the region faces a humanitarian, economic and ecological crisis of staggering scope, with effects likely to last years. Cotton crops on...
Flooded Farms, Fouled Rivers, Dozens Dead: Helene’s Rising Toll
Oct 2 2024 // As historic floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Helene recede across the US Southeast, the region faces a humanitarian, economic and ecological crisis of staggering scope, with effects likely to last years. Cotton crops on...
Texas Farmers and Ranchers Sound Alarm Over Languishing Farm Bill
Sep 30 2024 // LUBBOCK — Federal lawmakers are sounding the alarm on the economic catastrophe that could happen if a new farm bill isn’t passed by the end of this year, now that the 2018 version has officially expired. Since it...
AM Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of Texas Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.
Sep 18 2024 // AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb+” (Good) from “a-” (Excellent) of Texas...
Two Workers Die in Accident at South Dakota Farm Silo
Sep 11 2024 // VOLGA, S.D. (AP) — Two people have died in an accident at a farm silo in South Dakota. The Brookings County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that the accident happened just before noon Saturday on a farm...
People Moves: AXIS Names White as Head of Aviation, Succeeding Wood; Lockton Re Names Lynn for New Agriculture Practice, Ferrier for US West Coast Build-Out
Sep 3 2024 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at AXIS Capital Holdings and Lockton Re. A summary of these new hires follows here. AXIS Names White as Head of Aviation, Succeeding Wood AXIS Capital...
