Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Outlooks Revised to Positive for Bremen Farmers Mutual Insurance in Kansas
Dec 1 2020 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb+” of Bremen Farmers Mutual...
Virus Outbreak Reported Among Animals and Staff at Oregon Mink Farm
Dec 1 2020 // An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of COVID-19 among animals and staff. The Statesman Journal reports the farm has been placed under quarantine, meaning no animals or animal products can leave the farm. The state...
Meatpacking Plants Linked to Up to 8% of Early U.S. COVID Cases
Nov 27 2020 // As many as one in 12 cases of Covid-19 in the early stage of the pandemic in the U.S. can be tied to outbreaks at meatpacking plants and subsequent spread in surrounding communities, according to a study. The findings...
Louisiana Ag Commissioner Pushing Farmers, Ranchers to Apply for Virus Aid
Nov 24 2020 // Louisiana’s agriculture commissioner is urging the state’s farmers and ranchers to turn in their applications for federal coronavirus assistance ahead of next month’s deadline, and he’s worried some...
Pork Producer Smithfield Settles Nuisance Lawsuits in N.C. as Court Affirms Verdict
Nov 24 2020 // A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a 2018 jury verdict that led to awarding monetary damages to neighbors of a North Carolina industrial hog operation for smells and noise they said made living nearby...
Louisiana a Founding Member of ‘Cannabis Regulators Association’
Nov 20 2020 // Louisiana is one of 19 states that are now part of the newly formed non-partisan organization called the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA). The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) is a founding...
20 Farms in Washington Fined for Not Protecting Workers From COVID-19
Nov 17 2020 // Three Mid-Columbia farms are among those receiving the biggest fines in the state from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries for serious violations of agriculture regulations to prevent the spread of the...
Kansas Farmers Will Be Disproportionately Affected by Rising Temps, Study Finds
Nov 2 2020 // Growing corn and soybeans will become increasingly challenging for Kansas farmers as the climate warms, according to a Kansas State University study. The study found that drought and heat are the biggest reason for crop...
EPA Denies Ban; Permits Farmers’ Use of Dicamba-Based Weed Killers for Five Years
Oct 28 2020 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it will allow farmers to spray crops with weed killers based on the chemical dicamba that are sold by Bayer AG and other companies, after a U.S. appeals court...
Study: Kansas Farmers Will Be Disproportionately Affected by Rising Temps
Oct 27 2020 // Growing corn and soybeans will become increasingly challenging for Kansas farmers as the climate warms, according to a recent Kansas State University study. The study found that drought and heat are currently the biggest...
Bayer’s Monsanto Loses Final Appeal in French Farmer’s 2004 Weedkiller Accident
Oct 23 2020 // Bayer’s Monsanto division on Wednesday [Oct. 21] lost a final appeal in a long-running French legal battle in which the crop chemical maker has been held liable for the accidental inhalation of a weedkiller by a crop...
Report: Cost of Damage from August Midwest Windstorm Up to $7.5B
Oct 20 2020 // Damage estimates from a rare windstorm that slammed Iowa and some other parts of the Midwest in August are growing, with the total now at $7.5 billion, according to a new report. The Aug. 10 storm hit Iowa hard but also...
Midwest Farmers Receive Record Federal Aid, Crop Insurance Payments Under Trump
Oct 20 2020 // U.S. President Donald Trump is assuring a bumper year for farmers as the Nov. 3 election approaches, with record government subsidies projected to make up more than a third of farm income in 2020. The aid programs could be...
New Mexico Lawmakers Say Farmers Shortchanged on Disaster Aid
Oct 19 2020 // New Mexico’s congressional delegation is calling for more oversight of a federal agency after some farmers and ranchers were shortchanged on disaster aid and Hispanic farmers who rely on traditional acequias to...
Iowa’s Derecho Crop Losses Increase by More Than 50%, Report Shows
Oct 12 2020 // A new report shows that crop loss estimates from a rare windstorm that slammed Iowa in August have increased by more than 50%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Oct. 9 that the number of crop acres that Iowa...
Montana Climate Project Will Install Remote Weather Stations
Oct 7 2020 // University of Montana researchers recently received a $21 million government contract, bringing more support and longevity to what has been a grassroots effort to build a better climate monitoring network across the...
South Carolina Passes Flood Insurance Law to Boost Private Market
Oct 6 2020 // The state of South Carolina is aiming to foster new flood insurance coverage options through the enactment of the South Carolina Private Flood Insurance Act. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the legislation,...
Study: 82% of Georgia Farmers Have Seen Decline in Revenue from Pandemic
Sep 29 2020 // A study conducted by the University of Georgia found that 82% of farmers in the state have seen their revenue decline due to the coronavirus pandemic. The findings released this month come from a May survey of more than...
U.S. to Research Transmission of COVID-19 in Beef Supply Chain
Sep 28 2020 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture is funding a $1 million research project to identify how the virus that causes COVID-19 might be transmitted in the nation’s beef supply chain, from cattle on the farm to the...
Purdue Report: 21 Work-Related Deaths on Indiana Farms in 2019
Sep 23 2020 // Indiana had 21 work-related deaths on farms deaths last year, the fewest number of documented cases since 2013, Purdue University announced on Sept. 22. Three of the victims were children under the age of 5, while 11 were...
