Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
A Look at the 32% of Businesses Located in Hurricane-Vulnerable Counties
Jul 17 2020 // As the 2020 hurricane season gets underway, emergency officials pay attention to the growing share (29%) of the U.S. population in the nation’s 255 coastline counties. They’re also looking at ways to minimize...
‘G4’ Swine Flu Virus Is Not New, Does Not Easily Infect Humans: China
Jul 6 2020 // SHANGHAI/BEIJING – China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Saturday that the so-called “G4” strain of swine flu virus is not new and does not infect or sicken humans and animals...
Wildfire Burns 20 Homes in Southern California Desert Town
Jul 1 2020 // A wind-driven wildfire destroyed homes and forced evacuations as it tore through a rural Southern California desert town near the Salton Sea, authorities said. The fire erupted Sunday evening in Niland, a small and poor...
California Adopts Workplace Safety Standards Protecting Nighttime Ag Workers
Jun 26 2020 // California has adopted new workplace safety standards to protect agricultural employees who work at night. These are reportedly the first lighting standards in the nation written specifically to protect agricultural...
Florida Farmers Offer Reward After Watermelon Crop is Destroyed
Jun 24 2020 // A family of farmers in North Florida is seeking answers after a field of watermelons was sprayed with damaging chemicals. Hugh Martin told the Gainesville Sun his family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that...
U.S. Court Nixes Cancer Warning on Bayer’s Roundup Weed Killer
Jun 23 2020 // A U.S. federal appeals court on Monday blocked California from requiring that Bayer AG label its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup with a cancer warning, handing the company a victory in its ongoing litigation over the...
China Says Food Unlikely to Be Cause of New Virus Outbreak, but Blocks Tyson Imports
Jun 22 2020 // China suspended poultry imports from a Tyson Foods Inc. plant where hundreds of employees tested positive for Covid-19, stoking concerns over the broader implications for U.S. and global meat exports. All products from the...
No-Deal Brexit Would Deepen Economic Pain for UK’s Coronavirus-Hit Companies
Jun 16 2020 // Trade talks between the EU and UK have struggled in recent weeks, increasing the prospect that Britain departs the bloc without a deal and that businesses face an extreme shock when the divorce takes effect. It’s a...
Nebraska Farm Bureau: Potential Ag Losses from Pandemic – $3.7B
Jun 12 2020 // Nebraska potentially faces nearly $3.7 billion in agricultural losses from the coronavirus pandemic if economic conditions do not improve, the Nebraska Farm Bureau said. Its estimate projects revenue losses for this...
Coronavirus Spreading Among U.S. Fruit, Vegetable Packers Raising Concern
Jun 11 2020 // From apple packing houses in Washington state to farm workers in Florida and a California county known as “the world’s salad bowl,” outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are emerging at U.S. fruit and...
Court Rebuffs EPA, Blocks U.S. Sale of Dicamba-Based Herbicide by Bayer, Rivals
Jun 4 2020 // A U.S. appeals court has blocked Bayer AG from selling an agricultural weed killer in the United States, the latest setback for a business already fighting an expensive legal battle over another product. A three-judge...
Virus from Africa Kills Horses in Thailand, Showing Dangers of Biosecurity Gaps
May 29 2020 // When horses suddenly started dying in Thailand as the nation locked down to stem the spread of COVID-19, researchers feared the cause was another deadly bat-borne virus that could kill humans. “We had no idea what...
Farm Workers Getting Sick, Spreading Coronavirus As Peak Produce Season Begins
May 29 2020 // All of the roughly 200 employees on a produce farm in Tennessee tested positive for Covid-19 this month. In New Jersey, more than 50 workers had the virus at a farm in Gloucester County, adding to nearly 60 who fell ill in...
Coronavirus Cluster Found in Crew of Freight Cargo Ship in Australia
May 27 2020 // A coronavirus cluster was detected Tuesday on a freight ship berthed in the Australian west coast port of Fremantle, raising questions about why local authorities weren’t alerted to the danger. Six of 48 crew members...
Workers Worry Over Enforcement of Meatpacking Plant Safety Recommendations
May 22 2020 // Federal recommendations meant to keep meatpacking workers safe as they return to plants that were shuttered by the coronavirus have little enforcement muscle behind them, fueling anxiety that working conditions could put...
Credit Ratings of United Farm Bureau of Indiana Group Upgraded
May 21 2020 // AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “a” from “a-” of the members of United Farm...
Minnesota Governor Signs Bill Aiding Farmers Facing Foreclosure
May 20 2020 // Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed a bill that stops farm foreclosures until Dec. 1 for farmers struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic who elect to take part in creditor mediation. Minnesota’s...
Coronavirus Blocks Farm Laborers from Working in UK – in Possible Foretaste of Brexit
May 18 2020 // Britain’s fruit and vegetable farmers have long dreaded their country’s exit from the European Union, worrying that it would keep out the tens of thousands of Eastern European workers who come every year to...
U.S. Completes Overhaul of Biotech Farm Product Regulations
May 18 2020 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday a rule that will simplify or waive agency reviews of certain biotech farm products, including plants and seeds that have been genetically modified or engineered. As...
Florida Man Charged with Starting 343-Acre Wildfire in Panhandle
May 15 2020 // A Florida Panhandle man who set up an illegal burn barrel on his property caused a wildfire that torched approximately 343 acres (139 hectares) of wild lands and damaged or destroyed about 59 homes, state officials...
