Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Dry Conditions Shouldn’t Impact Hawaii Coffee Crops
Nov 11 2014 // A new forecast says Hawaii’s Big Island can expect below-average rainfall this winter. But it’s not likely to experience severe drought. The National Weather Service says there is a 55- to 60 percent chance of...
Meteorologists Watch for Signs of El Nino in Warmer Pacific Ocean
Nov 5 2014 // Weather conditions similar to El Nino will continue amid warming of the Pacific Ocean as thresholds for the event that brings drought to Asia and heavier-than-usual rains to South America may be reached by early next...
South Carolina Approves CAT Models, Weighs Building Public Model
Nov 4 2014 // South Carolina regulators have approved seven private catastrophe models for use in ratemaking while conducting a legislatively mandated study on the feasibility of constructing a public model. South Carolina Insurance...
South Carolina Approves CAT Models, Weighs Building Public Model
Nov 3 2014 // South Carolina regulators have approved seven private catastrophe models for use in ratemaking while conducting a legislatively mandated study on the feasibility of constructing a public model. South Carolina Insurance...
California Drought Bad Tidings for Rice Harvest
Oct 30 2014 // California’s deepening drought is shrinking its rice harvest, and that’s bad news for farmers, migratory birds and sushi lovers. The $5 billion industry exports rice to more than 100 countries and specializes...
Minnesota Farmers Awarded $6.3M in Suit Against Utility
Oct 28 2014 // A judge in Minnesota’s Cass County has awarded $6.3 million to a couple whose milk cows were injured or killed by stray voltage on their dairy farm from a Brainerd utility company. KTTC-TV reports the judge awarded...
Republican Atwater Expected to Easily Retain Florida CFO Seat
Oct 28 2014 // The races for two of Florida’s most important offices, state agriculture commissioner and chief financial officer, both pit incumbent Republicans with big campaign coffers against little-known Democrats who...
Weak El Nino May Form in Warmer-Than-Normal Pacific
Oct 24 2014 // A weak El Nino will probably develop by the year-end, according to MDA Weather Services. While sea-surface temperatures are warmer than normal across most areas in the tropical Pacific ocean, it still doesn’t qualify...
Former Claims Adjuster Must Repay Farm Bureau $20K in Kansas Fraud Case
Oct 23 2014 // A former insurance adjuster was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution for insurance fraud involving wrecked vehicles, according to an announcement by the Kansas Insurance Department. The Ford...
Minnesota Seeing More, Costlier Farm Equipment Accidents
Oct 23 2014 // Increasingly large farm machinery is causing more costly and potentially dangerous collisions with power lines and poles, rural Minnesota electric co-ops say. More than 2,000 customers of Federated Rural Electric, based in...
Texas Cotton Farmers Say Farm Bill Provision Saves Crop Insurance
Oct 23 2014 // Texas cotton producers say they are pleased to learn the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reconsidered its decision about implementing a provision of the farm bill. The department’s announcement means its Risk...
New Crop Insurance Program to Benefit Small Ag Producers in North Dakota
Oct 21 2014 // Small farmers and ranchers in North Dakota who once were unable to insure their crops will get a chance to do so in 2015 under a new insurance program. Small and mid-size producers will be able to insure all of their...
With $100M in Crop Losses USDA Grants Eight Idaho Counties Disaster Status
Oct 20 2014 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted disaster area status to eight counties in central and eastern Idaho, clearing the way for farms to receive low-interest loans for operating costs. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack...
Global Indemnity to Acquire American Reliable from Assurant Specialty
Oct 17 2014 // Assurant Specialty Property, a business segment of Assurant Inc., has agreed to sell its general agency business and associated insurance carrier, American Reliable Insurance Co., to Global Indemnity Group Inc., the U.S....
States’ Efforts on Climate Change Adaptation: Half Full or Half Empty?
Oct 16 2014 // Who hates that glass-half-full analogy? I’m guessing more than half of you, but let’s not let that stand in the way of using the clichéd-to-death philosophical quandary to illustrate a point being made by a...
Oklahoma Wheat Farmers Seek Drought Loss Relief from USDA
Oct 13 2014 // Oklahoma wheat farmers want the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement now a policy that’s scheduled to start in 2016 that farmers say would help ease the financial pain of ongoing drought. The policy is part of...
Labor Advocates Question Florida Immigrant Workers’ Comp Arrests
Oct 9 2014 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater touted the arrests of more than 100 immigrant agriculture workers last July as an effort to crack down on the costly problem of workers’ compensation fraud. But it quickly...
Louisiana Agriculture Officials Seek Drone Rule Changes
Oct 6 2014 // Louisiana agricultural officials have asked the federal government to loosen restrictions on the use of pilotless aerial vehicles. The Advocate reported the Federal Aviation Administration is modifying drone regulations...
With $100M In Crop Losses USDA Grants Eight Idaho Counties Disaster Status
Oct 6 2014 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted disaster area status to eight counties in central and eastern Idaho, clearing the way for farms to receive low-interest loans for operating costs. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack...
Viewpoint: Costs Bury Insurance Savings Promised in Farm Bill
Oct 2 2014 // When does a $23 billion spending cut result in no savings at all? When it’s part of the U.S. farm bill. Just a few weeks ago, the newest bill — a grab bag of subsidies for farmers and federal nutrition programs...
