Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Washington Farmers Suing Over Virus Rules for Migrant Workers

Feb 4 2021 // Two farm groups are suing the state of Washington for failing to revise emergency regulations that seek to protect migrant farmworkers from the COVID-19 virus.The groups filed the lawsuit this week in Yakima County...

Massachusetts Solar Farm Ordered to Pay $1M for Polluting Wetlands, River

Feb 4 2021 // Owners of a solar energy farm in Massachusetts have reached a settlement with the state’s attorney general’s office to remediate a large tract of wetlands and riverfront damaged during construction of the site...

Farmers Launches Direct-to-Consumer Policies in Mississippi

Jan 22 2021 // Farmers Insurance has launched a range of customizable insurance products in Mississippi. Customers throughout the state can now quote and purchase auto, home, condo, and renters products in a direct-to-consumer...

Oklahoma Dairy Recalls Contaminated Milk Given to Children

Jan 20 2021 // Oklahoma schools are advising people to throw away milk products received from districts after a dairy company recalled its chocolate milk because some of it may have been contaminated.Hiland Dairy is recalling 4,800 cases...

Farms Were the Deadliest Workplaces in Montana Last Year

Jan 11 2021 // An annual report made public by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry has shown that 2019 was slightly more deadly than the previous year in workplaces, with farming the most dangerous industry.The Census of Fatal...

Farms Were the Deadliest Workplaces in Montana Last Year

Dec 30 2020 // An annual report made public by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry has shown that 2019 was slightly more deadly than the previous year in workplaces, with farming the most dangerous industry.The Census of Fatal...

Sompo Acquires Diversified Crop Insurance, Forms AgriSompo North America

Dec 29 2020 // Sompo International Holdings Ltd. (SIH), a Bermuda-based specialty provider of property/casualty insurance and reinsurance, has acquired Lenexa, Kan.-based Diversified Crop Insurance Services (DCIS), a subsidiary of CGB...

Washington Farm Fined $2M for Virus Rule Violations

Dec 28 2020 // An investigation into the COVID-19 deaths of two workers at a Central Washington farm has reportedly found dozens of safety and health violations.As a result, the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries has...

Mink Captured Outside Oregon Farm Tests Positive for Virus

Dec 28 2020 // The Oregon Department of Agriculture said among animals captured during wildlife surveillance near a mink farm that recently had a coronavirus outbreak, a mink believed to have recently escaped confinement tested positive...

Insuring Cannabis Summit: There Were Crop Risks Aplenty in 2020

Dec 21 2020 // Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles based on panels and presentations during Insurance Journal’s 2020 Insuring Cannabis Summit on Nov. 19.Is there a lot of risk in cannabis crops that insurance...

Fire Kills 240K Chickens at Florida Farm

Dec 18 2020 // A fire early Thursday killed as many as 240,000 chickens at a Florida farm operated by one of the nation’s largest egg producers.The Pasco County fire department reports that three barns each containing up to 80,000...

Zurich and Farmers Agree to Buy MetLife’s U.S. P/C Business for $3.94 Billion

Dec 11 2020 // Zurich Insurance and Farmers Exchanges have agreed to buy MetLife’s U.S. property and casualty business for $3.94 billion, the insurers said on Friday, after the COVID-19 pandemic made motor and home insurers more...

France Vows to Help Farmers Who Stop Using Glyphosate Weedkiller

Dec 8 2020 // France will give financial aid to farmers who agree to halt use of glyphosate, the farm ministry said on Monday after President Macron said he had failed with efforts to ban use of the weedkiller by 2021.Glyphosate, first...

Migrant Farm Workers from Texas Allege Pesticide Exposure in Illinois

Dec 7 2020 // More than two dozen migrant workers from Texas allege they were sprayed with toxic pesticides while working in Illinois cornfields, according to a federal lawsuit.The workers, including teenagers, senior citizens and a...

Farmers in 21 Louisiana Parishes May Qualify for Hurricane Laura Aid

Dec 4 2020 // Farmers in 21 north and central Louisiana parishes may qualify for low-interest loans to cover losses from Hurricane Laura in August.These are parishes which did not already qualify under President Donald Trump’s...

Supreme Court Justices Tackle Company Liability for Human Rights Abuses

Dec 2 2020 // U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared wary of barring lawsuits against American companies over alleged human rights abuses abroad but signaled they could toss out a case accusing Cargill Inc. and a Nestle SA...

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...