Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
South Dakota Family Sues Dakota Access over Damage to Farmland
Nov 3 2017 // A farm family is suing the Dakota Access pipeline company alleging it failed to restore farmland it damaged during construction as promised. Slack Family Properties accuses the pipeline company of breach of contract,...
Manure Runoff from Iowa Dairy Farm Blamed for Death of 60K Fish
Nov 1 2017 // Authorities are blaming a manure runoff from a dairy farm for killing about 60,000 fish in eastern Iowa. The farm is situated about three miles east of New Vienna. The fish kill was reported Oct. 9 after fish carcasses...
Farmers Files Trade Secrets Suit in California Against Auto Club Michigan, Former Employees
Oct 31 2017 // Farmers Insurance has filed a lawsuit in California against a pair of former employees and the Automobile Club of Michigan alleging the theft of trade secrets. The suit alleges violations of the California Trade Secrets...
South Dakota Farmers Report 57K Acres Damaged by Dicamba
Oct 27 2017 // South Dakota farmers have reported about 57,000 acres of crops damaged by an herbicide called dicamba. Dicamba is an herbicide widely used to kill weeds in soybeans genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide,...
U.S. Senator Calls for Increased USDA Response to North Dakota Drought
Oct 24 2017 // U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to send more workers to western North Dakota, where she says understaffed Farm Service Agency offices are dealing with an overwhelming workload...
Iowa’s Millhiser Smith Agency, The Accel Group to Merge
Oct 24 2017 // Millhiser Smith Agency, an independent insurance agency in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, specializing in risk management, has entered a definitive merger agreement with The Accel Group, a Cedar Valley, Iowa-based insurance agency...
Judge Orders Georgia Vidalia Onion Farmer to Pay $1.4M in Overtime Suit
Oct 23 2017 // One of the largest producers of Georgia’s famous Vidalia onions must pay $1.4 million in damages and unpaid overtime owed to hundreds of workers, a federal judge ruled. A U.S. District Court judge found that Bland...
Farmers in Upper Midwest Report Damage from Dicamba Herbicide
Oct 20 2017 // Hundreds of farmers in the Upper Midwest are reporting damage from the controversial herbicide dicamba, and state officials are considering restrictions for the 2018 growing season that might surpass even new federal...
Iowa’s Grassley in ‘Violent Opposition’ to Withdrawal of Rule Protecting Animal Farmers
Oct 20 2017 // The Trump administration’s decision to kill a rule designed to protect the rights of farmers who raise chickens, cows and hogs for the United States’ largest meat processors has infuriated farmer advocates,...
Former Patriots Players Speaking at Risk Conference Air Opinions on Kneeling
Oct 18 2017 // Watching NFL players kneel during the National Anthem didn’t sit well with a pair of former New England Patriots players, who aired their feelings about players protesting during the opening of football games during...
Irma Dealt Devastating Blow to Florida Citrus, Other Crops
Oct 16 2017 // Florida’s famous oranges are still falling from trees and rotting on the ground weeks after Hurricane Irma, and the state’s agriculture commissioner said Thursday there will be fewer Florida vegetables on...
Kentucky Crop Insurance Agent Accused of Defrauding Taxpayers
Oct 13 2017 // A crop insurance agent in Kentucky is facing federal charges alleging she defrauded taxpayers of $169,000 by helping farmers inflate tobacco crop losses and collect insurance money and then helping them sell their burley...
California Fires Pose Grave Risk to Marijuana Growers
Oct 12 2017 // For many businesses in northern California, it will take years to rebuild from the wildfires that have decimated the region. For many legal cannabis growers, the destruction could be insurmountable. At least six marijuana...
Texas Pumpkin Crops Suffer from Heavy Rains
Oct 11 2017 // It’s the peak time of year to harvest pumpkins, but the weather hasn’t been so kind to one of Floyd County, Texas’s most famous crops. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports Lindsey Pyle, with Pumpkin Pyle...
Brost to Join Board of Iowa’s Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co.
Oct 10 2017 // Crop insurer, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa (FMH), announced that James A. Brost, retiring senior vice president with Holborn Corp., will join the FMH board of directors on Jan. 1, 2018. Brost began his...
Wildfires Ravage California’s Iconic Wine Country Region
Oct 10 2017 // Wildfires that tore through northern California’s iconic wine-growing regions have prompted evacuations of more than 20,000 people, killed 11 and damaged some of the most valuable vineyards and wineries in the...
Citrus Crop Thefts a Growing Problem in South Texas
Oct 6 2017 // When it comes to commodity theft, Texas probably is best-known for cattle rustling. The Valley Morning Star reports now the state — or at least the Rio Grande Valley — is earning a reputation for citrus thievery,...
Q3 2017 Likely to Be One of Costliest for Natural Disasters: Aon Report
Oct 6 2017 // The third quarter of 2017 is likely to break a new record as one of the costliest quarters for natural catastrophes, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. “The...
Hurricane Irma Caused $2.5B in Damage to Florida Crops
Oct 6 2017 // State officials say Hurricane Irma caused more than $2.5 billion in damage to Florida’s agricultural community. Irma dealt Florida’s iconic orange crop the most devastating blow causing more than $760 million...
A.M. Best Upgrades Credit Rating of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Group in Iowa
Oct 3 2017 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of “A” of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and...
