Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. March Storms Cost Economy $3B; Argentina, Uruguay Drought $4B: Aon Report
Apr 6 2018 // A series of winter storms and severe weather in the United States during March brought economic damages of US$3 billion, with public and private insurers covering roughly two-thirds of the cost, according to a report...
Argentine Drought Hits Farmers Who Begin Demanding Crop Insurance
Apr 4 2018 // Jorge Josifovich is silent and downcast as he walks under the pounding sun in one of Argentina’s most fertile agricultural regions, staring at soy crops parched by the country’s worst drought in years. The...
Arkansas Judge: 6 Farmers Can Spray Controversial Chemical Dicamba
Apr 3 2018 // An Arkansas judge has ruled that six farmers in the state this summer can spray a weed killer made by Monsanto Co. and BASF SE that was blamed for hurting millions of acres of U.S. crops last year. The decision is the...
12 Arizona Counties Re-Designated Natural Disaster Areas
Mar 19 2018 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the re-designation of 12 Arizona counties as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by recent drought. The Mohave Valley Daily News reported farmers in...
Wildfires in Southeast Australia Destroy More Than 70 Homes, Kill Livestock
Mar 19 2018 // More than 70 homes were destroyed as bushfires swept through the seaside town of Tathra in southeastern Australia at the weekend. Soaring temperatures and wind gusts fanned the fires about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south...
Climate Change Worsens Effects of Natural Disasters, Costing Farmers Billions of Dollars
Mar 19 2018 // Natural disasters from droughts to floods are costing farmers in poorer countries billions of dollars a year in lost crops and livestock, and it’s getting worse thanks to climate change. Agricultural losses from...
Lloyd’s Broker Endeavour Taps Bloodstock Specialist Stonehatch as Appointed Rep
Mar 16 2018 // Delegated authority specialist and Lloyd’s broker Endeavour Insurance Services announced that niche broker Stonehatch Risk Solutions has become an appointed representative of the company. Based in London, Stonehatch...
Fatal Copter Tour Flew Under Looser Rules of Crop-Dusters
Mar 15 2018 // The open-door helicopter tour in which five people died in a crash landing in the East River off Manhattan on Sunday was operating under safety restrictions reserved for photography flights that are looser than those for...
$1.5B Settlement in Syngenta Modified Corn Seed Lawsuit
Mar 14 2018 // A $1.5 billion settlement was reached in a class-action lawsuit covering tens of thousands of farmers, grain-handling facilities and ethanol plants that sued Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta over its introduction of a...
Judge to Decide on Evidence to Allow in Monsanto Product Liability Litigation
Mar 14 2018 // Picture Iowa farmers bathing in Roundup weed killer. That was a federal judge’s takeaway after seeing slides that “sort of seared into my brain” that the main chemical in Monsanto Co.’s Roundup is...
China to Merge Banking, Insurance Regulators in Big Government Shake-Up
Mar 13 2018 // China is merging its banking and insurance regulators, giving new powers to policymaking bodies such as the central bank and creating new ministries in the biggest government shake-up in years. The revamp is a cornerstone...
Hard Brexit Would Cost UK, EU Firms $80B with UK Financial Services Worst Hit: Report
Mar 12 2018 // Companies in Britain and the European Union face an extra 58 billion pounds ($80 billion) in annual costs if there is a no-deal Brexit, with Britain’s vast financial sector set to be the worst-hit industry, according...
Monsanto’s Suit over Arkansas’ Dicamba Ban Dismissed
Mar 5 2018 // An Arkansas judge has dismissed a Monsanto Co. lawsuit aiming to stop the state from blocking the use of a controversial farm chemical the company makes, dealing a blow to its attempts to increase sales of genetically...
Farmer Criticism Leads to Wisconsin Dairy Insurance Program Adjustment
Mar 5 2018 // Wisconsin lawmakers tweaked a federal price insurance program following criticism from dairy farmers. The Margin Protection Program for Dairy allows farmers to buy insurance that pays out when the cost to produce milk...
Bees Endangered by Neonicotinoid Pesticides: EU Food Safety Regulator
Feb 28 2018 // Wild bees and honeybees are put at risk by three pesticides from a group known as neonicotinoids, Europe’s food safety watchdog said on Wednesday, confirming previous concerns that prompted an EU-wide ban on use of...
Alabama Agency Employee Arrested in $116K Crop Insurance Scam
Feb 27 2018 // An Alabama woman who works for Dothan’s Farm Service Agency has been arrested on multiple fraud charges. Federal authorities say 36-year-old Anna Marie Knowles, of Headland, was arrested Thursday and faces charges of...
Outlooks Revised to Positive for Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual
Feb 26 2018 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” of Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual...
Wisconsin Tweaks Pricing for Dairy Insurance Program
Feb 21 2018 // Wisconsin lawmakers have tweaked a federal price insurance program following criticism from dairy farmers. The Margin Protection Program for Dairy allows farmers to buy insurance that pays out when the cost to produce milk...
California Marijuana Growers Lagging in Getting Licenses, New Report Shows
Feb 21 2018 // Nearly two months after recreational marijuana became legal in California, less than 1 percent of the state’s known growers have been licensed, according to a report released by a pot industry group. The 38-page...
Monsanto Loses Bid to Stop Arkansas Ban on Herbicide Dicamba
Feb 20 2018 // An Arkansas judge has dismissed a Monsanto Co. lawsuit aiming to stop Arkansas from blocking the use of a controversial farm chemical the company makes, dealing a blow to its attempts to increase sales of genetically...