Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Farmer Protests Disrupt Belgian Supermarkets’ Supply Chain
Feb 1 2024 // Protesting farmers have blocked the distribution centers of Colruyt, one of Belgium’s biggest supermarket chains, a spokesperson confirmed, while local media reported that distribution centers of discount supermarket...
Avian Flu Is Devastating Farms in California’s ‘Egg Basket’
Jan 31 2024 // Last month, Mike Weber got the news every poultry farmer fears: His chickens tested positive for avian flu. Following government rules, Weber’s company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its entire flock of egg-laying...
Small Farmers Hit by Extreme Weather Would be Helped by New Crop Insurance Program
Jan 30 2024 // Since catastrophic flooding hit Vermont in July and waterlogged crops, some farmers are trying to figure out how to get through the next season. Water washed away seeds planted in the summer at Bear Roots Farm, which grows...
Residents Fight Planned Monkey-Breeding Farm in South Georgia
Jan 29 2024 // BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (AP) — Some local residents and an animal-rights group are protesting plans for a monkey-breeding facility in southwest Georgia. Opponents recently urged the Bainbridge City Council to block plans by a...
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Farmers Mutual Fire of Pennsylvania
Jan 26 2024 // Ratings firm AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable of Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Co. of Marble, Pennsylvania. At the same time, it has affirmed the insurer’s Financial Strength Rating of A...
Allstate Doesn’t Owe for Diminished Value; Farm Bureau Barred from Subro, Courts Say
Jan 17 2024 // Two court rulings in Southeastern states have underscored insurers’ responsibilities under uninsured motorist laws. In a Mississippi class-action lawsuit, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Allstate...
Rokstone Launches Kentucky-based TPA for U.S. Agricultural Claims
Jan 11 2024 // Rokstone, a specialty insurance and reinsurance managing general agency, has launched a new third-party administrator service based in Kentucky. Part of the Aventum Group, Rokstone said its new Verus TPA will manage...
Update: Floods Strand Cows, Damage Crops as Wild Weather Hits Australia
Jan 9 2024 // Heavy rains and flooding across Australia’s southern state of Victoria has damaged crops and stranded cattle as a months-long run of wild weather on the nation’s east coast leaves a trail of destruction. Severe...
Climate Change Makes Forecasting Harder, Australia’s Agriculture Minister Says
Jan 2 2024 // Climate change is making it harder to accurately predict extreme weather events, said Australia’s agriculture minister Murray Watt, amid criticism the country’s meteorology department failed to provide timely...
Farmers Direct Asks for 20% Auto Rate Increase in West Virginia
Dec 15 2023 // The West Virginia Insurance Commissioner’s Office is accepting comments on a proposed 19.9% auto liability insurance rate increase for Farmers Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Co. The proposed increase is one...
Massachusetts Farmers Get $20 Million in State Disaster Relief After Rough Year
Dec 15 2023 // It was a rough year for many Massachusetts farmers who experienced a deep February freeze, a late May frost event, and catastrophic flooding in July. To help them recover from the damage, the Healey-Driscoll Administration...
North Carolina Hog Farms Were Properly Permitted, State Appeals Court Says
Dec 7 2023 // RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Several hog farms in North Carolina were properly allowed to collect energy from the animals` waste, a state appeals court said Tuesday, ruling that their permit applications were scrutinized...
Study: Louisiana’s Agriculture and Forestry Sectors Suffer $1.69B in Damages Due to Heat and Drought
Dec 5 2023 // Louisiana’s agriculture and forestry sectors experienced approximately $1.69 billion in damages in 2023 due to excessive heat and drought, according to a study from the Louisiana State University Agricultural...
Federal Crop Insurance Provides Billions in Profit for Insurers, Says USDA
Dec 5 2023 // Roughly one-third of U.S. government spending to insure the nation’s crops since 2011 has gone to insurance companies that derive more than $1 billion in profit from the program each year, according to a government...
California Cities and Farms to Get 10% of Requested State Water Supplies When 2024 Starts
Dec 5 2023 // California water agencies serving 27 million people will get 10% of the water they requested from state supplies to start 2024 due to a relatively dry fall, even though the state’s reservoirs are in good shape, state...
EWG Report Finds Rapidly Rising Crop Payouts As Climate Change Hits U.S. Agriculture
Dec 4 2023 // Drought, heat, hail, rain and freezing temperatures – the five horsemen of crop insurance. A new report from EWG found that crop insurance payouts for the top five weather-related losses totaled over $118.7 billion...
When Extreme Weather Hits, Smaller Farms Often Pay the Price
Nov 21 2023 // Justin Ralph estimates he`s made about 200 trips delivering grain from the fields he farms with his brother and uncle this year. They`re accustomed to using their four semi-trucks to take the harvest from a total of about...
AM Best Places Florida Farm Bureau Ratings Under Review After Idalia Losses Pile On
Nov 20 2023 // AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “bbb+” (Good) of Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. and...
Skanska Ordered to Pay $1.7M to Florida Oyster Farm for Barges Loosed in Storm
Nov 20 2023 // Skanska USA, part of one of the world’s largest construction firms, was ordered to pay almost $1.7 million to a Florida oyster farmer, three years after the firm’s barges broke loose in Hurricane Sally. The...
Fairfax Offers to Take Agritech Firm Farmers Edge Private at 99% Below IPO Price
Nov 17 2023 // Canadian financial group Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. offered to buy out minority shareholders of agriculture technology firm Farmers Edge Inc. at a price that would crystallize near-total losses for any longer-term...
