Latest Agribusiness Headlines

All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Winter Weather Wallops US Farmers

Jan 10 2025 // A nasty dose of winter weather has pummeled much of the U.S. from Kansas to the East Coast, leaving many Americans to dig out of the blizzard — including farmers. And more is on the way, with the polar air expected to...

Texas Farmers Look to New Congress to Update Crucial Farm Bill

Jan 9 2025 // Texas farmers tepidly celebrated last month after Congress barely managed to extend a package of laws meant to aid the nation’s agriculture industry and feed low-income Americans.The clock is now ticking for federal...

Farmers Still Reeling After Hurricane Helene Ravaged Crops Across the Southeast

Dec 23 2024 // LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South.An irrigation sprinkler system...

Farmers Now Eyeing California Favorably and Will Expand Its Coverage Options

Dec 11 2024 // Farmers Insurance said on Wednesday it will resume offering coverage for multiple lines of insurance in California to new customers.The lines include condominium, renters, umbrella, landlord, vacant and manufactured home....

Oklahoma Farm Fined $72K for Denying Workers Overtime Pay

Dec 3 2024 // The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and injunction to recover $72,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 20 workers whose Oklahoma employer misapplied the agriculture exemption to retail...

Texas Farmers Say Forever Chemicals in Fertilizer Poisoned Their Land

Dec 2 2024 // JOHNSON COUNTY — Tony Coleman recognizes the signs all too well. A cow drools strings of saliva. Then it starts to limp, each step slower. Then it grows stiff.Then it’s quick. There’s nothing to be done. The...

Missouri Farmer Who Stars in TV Series Admits to Crop Insurance Fraud

Dec 2 2024 // A Missouri farmer who appears in a reality TV show about his family’s farming operation pleaded guilty this week to a multi-million dollar fraud scheme involving federal crop insurance benefits.Steve A. McBee, 52,...

Wisconsin Man Charged With Crop Insurance Fraud

Nov 27 2024 // A Wisconsin man has been charged with defrauding the Federal Crop Insurance Program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin announced.Lance G. Meier, 52, Ogema, is charged with defrauding...

New ‘Revolution’ in Firefighting, Crop Protection: Unmanned Helicopters?

Nov 22 2024 // When Hector Xu was learning to fly a helicopter in college, he recalled having a few “nasty experiences” while trying to navigate at night.The heart-stopping flights led to his research of unmanned aircraft...

Washington Farm Labor Contractor Fined $140K for Withholding Info From Workers

Nov 18 2024 // A Pasco farm labor contractor faces nearly $140,000 in fines for violations uncovered during a Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigation that include withholding information from worker.According...

Missouri Farmer Who Stars in Reality TV Series Pleads Guilty to Crop Insurance Fraud

Nov 7 2024 // A Missouri farmer who appears in a reality TV show about his family’s farming operation pleaded guilty this week to a multi-million dollar fraud scheme involving federal crop insurance benefits.Steve A. McBee, 52,...

Company Vows to Sue Over Damages After New Mexico Police Destroy Cannabis Crops

Nov 7 2024 // State police have destroyed tens of thousands of pounds of marijuana plants at greenhouses in northwestern New Mexico, marking what regulators say is the largest seizure and destruction of cannabis in New Mexico since new...

AM Best Withdraws Credit Rating of Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. of Michigan

Nov 4 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of C++ (Marginal) and the Long-Term ICR of ‘b+’...

Texas Pecan Farmers Fight to Save Water Supply

Nov 1 2024 // FORT STOCKTON — Zachary Swick plucked a pecan from one of the 78,000 trees at a sprawling West Texas farm — a rare sight in the desert known for oil rigs and pump jacks. He peeled away the pecan’s layers, leaving...

Washington Farm Labor Contractor Fined $140K for Withholding Info From Workers

Nov 1 2024 // A Pasco farm labor contractor faces nearly $140,000 in fines for violations uncovered during a Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigation that include withholding information from worker.According...

Missouri Farm Cooperative Fined $241K for Lacking Proper Equipment

Oct 30 2024 // A Missouri grain cooperative could have prevented an employee’s fatal engulfment in a storage bin in May 2024 had it followed federal workplace safety requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor determined.Responding...

Farm Bill Becomes Lightning Rod in Wisconsin Senate Race

Oct 30 2024 // MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde has repeatedly defended his self-professed lack of knowledge about the U.S. farm bill in the campaign’s closing days, after first saying in a...

Specialist Risk Group Acquires Bloodstock and Livestock Specialist Broker Stonehatch

Oct 30 2024 // Specialist Risk Group (SRG), the London-based insurance intermediary, announced the acquisition of Stonehatch, a leading specialist bloodstock and livestock insurance broker.Financial details of the transaction were not...

Mississippi River Dries Up Again at Worst Time for US Farmers

Oct 25 2024 // The Mississippi River is suffering from low waters for the third straight autumn, a crucial time of year when American farmers rely on the route to deliver their crops to the world.Months of limited rainfall — with few...

Hurricane Milton Caused $1.5B-$2.5B in Losses to Florida Agriculture

Oct 22 2024 // Hurricane Milton caused an estimated $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in damage to Florida’s crops and agricultural infrastructure, according to a preliminary assessment released by the state’s Department of...