Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Romanian Government Plans Drought Insurance Scheme for Farmers
Aug 29 2024 // The Romanian government plans to approve an insurance system for agricultural land as part of a series of measures to help farmers whose crops have been ravaged by drought, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on...
Vibrant Green Fields Signal a Big US Corn Crop and Weak Prices
Aug 23 2024 // Between hail, strong winds, floods and plant disease, US corn crops were put through some tough times this summer. But somehow, the fields of green blanketing America’s heartland have proved to be ever...
AM Best Revises Outlook for Missouri Farm Bureau Group
Aug 22 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) of “a-” (Excellent) of Farm...
Pilgrim’s Pride Agrees to $100M Settlement Over Chicken Farmers’ Pay
Aug 20 2024 // Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the largest U.S. poultry processors, agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims it conspired with rivals to underpay chicken farmers, the final and by far the largest settlement in the...
California Pot Farmers Feel the Heat from Low Pricing, Wildfires
Aug 20 2024 // Small-scale cannabis farmers in California are calling it quits, crushed by crop damage from devastating wildfires and sliding prices, and industry experts expect the exodus to continue near-term in the largest pot market...
Wildfires Are Growing Under Climate Change, and Their Smoke Threatens Farmworkers
Aug 16 2024 // As wildfires scorched swaths of land in the wine country of Sonoma County in 2020, sending ash flying and choking the air with smoke, Maria Salinas harvested grapes. Her saliva turned black from inhaling the toxins, until...
US Undercounts Bird Flu in Cattle as Farmers Shun Testing
Aug 15 2024 // The U.S. bird-flu outbreak in dairy cattle is much larger than official figures suggest due to farmers’ reluctance to test their animals and risk the economic consequences of a positive result, according to Reuters...
Markets/Coverages: Liberty Mutual Re, Insurtech Sprout Offer Parametric Cover for Kenyan Coffee Farmers Facing Climate Risk
Aug 14 2024 // Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LM Re), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has partnered with insurtech firm Sprout Inc. and the Kenyan insurer Britam to launch a parametric insurance product, which aims to protect Kenyan...
Reporting High Electric Bills Helps Nab Illegal Marijuana Farms But Raises Privacy Issues
Aug 14 2024 // Operators of illegal marijuana grow enterprises hidden inside rural homes in Maine don’t have to worry much about prying neighbors. But their staggering electric bills may give rise to a new snitch. An electric...
Farmers to Streamline East Region in Move That Will Mean 84 Layoffs
Aug 14 2024 // Farmers Group is laying off more employees one year after it cut ties with 11% of its workforce or 2,400 people. This time the insurer said it is not disclosing how many people may lose their jobs. However on August 7, the...
Norway Salmon Farming Industry Grapples With Harsh Climate Effects
Aug 7 2024 // Norwegian salmon farmers face challenges from an unusually harsh winter and the El Nino climate phenomenon which led to record fish mortality and concerns over long-term forecasts ahead of a warmer summer. El Nino — a...
Midwestern Farmers Who Say Yes to Solar Power Face Neighbors’ Wrath
Aug 2 2024 // When Michigan farmer Clara Ostrander heard about the benefits of hosting a solar energy project, she remembered something her father had told her four days before he died: Don’t sell the farm. Keep it in the...
French Farmers Facing ‘Catastrophic’ Harvest Seek State Help
Jul 31 2024 // French farmers are calling on the government to provide financial aid as there’s a high risk that this year’s wheat harvest will be the lowest in at least a decade because of heavy rains. Three weeks into the...
Local Opposition Challenges Wind Farm Development in Rural Nebraska
Jul 29 2024 // After NextEra proposed a wind farm in Greeley County, Nebraska two years ago, Robert Bernt, a dairy farm owner in the area, helped to mobilize community members against the idea. His group held town hall meetings and ran...
Crop Insurance Won’t Let Some Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
Jul 29 2024 // In Kansas, where a prolonged drought has killed crops and eroded the soil, Gail Fuller’s farm is like an oasis. Sheep, cows and chickens graze freely on crops and vegetation in a paradisiacal mess. But if...
Vermont Farmers Take Stock After Losing Crops to Flooding Two Years in a Row
Jul 24 2024 // Exactly one year to the date of last year’s severe flooding in Vermont, Joe’s Brook Farm was flooded again by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. This time it was worse. Workers were able to harvest some of the...
Outbreak Continues to Grow as Bird Flu Found in Oklahoma Dairy Herd
Jul 18 2024 // Oklahoma has become the 13th U.S. state to detect bird flu in dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Monday, though the state said the infection happened months ago. The confirmation shows the outbreak...
Islamic Insurance Helps Cover Muslim Farmers Battling Climate Change
Jul 18 2024 // On his four and a half acres of land in central Pakistan, Izhar ul-Haq approaches farming as a science. He knows the precise acidity of the soil and the exact amount of brackish groundwater his crops can tolerate if mixed...
Parametric Insurance Helps Farmers and Others Hit Hard by Extreme Weather
Jul 15 2024 // Joemar Flores, a spindly 28-year-old, gestured across his family’s farmland, nestled between a steep hill and a river, and expressed gratitude for the rice paddies in the distance. They’re still there,...
After Beryl, Houston Area Farmers Come Together to Face Unique Challenges
Jul 15 2024 // PORTER, Texas (AP) — Hurricanes cause trouble for everyone, but farmers have a whole other list of problems. Beryl has been no exception: Over the past week, the storm damaged crops, soaked rabbits and chickens,...
