Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Senate Passes Farm Bill with Crop Insurance, Food Stamps, Hemp Farming

Dec 12 2018 // The Senate passed a five-year farm bill renewing agricultural subsidies and food aid for low-income families after weeks of negotiations over work requirements for food stamp recipients and a last-minute snag over forestry...

Arkansas Panel OKs Restrictions on Dicamba Herbicide Use

Dec 11 2018 // An Arkansas panel has given initial approval to allowing restricted use of an herbicide that was banned following complaints that it drifted onto crops and caused damage. The Arkansas Plant Board last week approved new...

ProAg Adds Borner, Piechowski, Schaefers to Leadership Team

Dec 11 2018 // Amarillo, Texas-based Producers Ag Insurance Group Inc. (ProAg), a member of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies, has hired Scott Schaefers as senior vice president of Marketing and Innovation, Becky Piechowski as...

50K or More Hens Died in Illinois Egg Farm Fire, Company Says

Dec 7 2018 // A company spokesman says 50,000 or more hens died in a fire that destroyed two barns of an egg farm in rural northeastern Illinois.Mussman’s Back Acres Inc. spokesman Brian Burch says 275,000 to 300,000 hens survived...

Aon Cites Need for Mitigation as Insured Wildfire Losses Top $10B for Second Year

Dec 7 2018 // Total aggregated economic losses for the wildfires that have burned across Northern and Southern California throughout the month are expected to minimally exceed $10 billion, while insurance claims payouts for wildfires...

Romaine Lettuce Outbreak Highlights Safety Measures in Produce Industry

Dec 7 2018 // After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.The E. coli outbreak announced just before...

Farmers Expects $2.1B in Claims from California Wildfires

Dec 5 2018 // Farmers Insurance expects $2.1 billion in claims from the California wildfires in November.The Los Angeles, Calif.-based carrier said it has so far received more than 9,000 claims combined for the Camp Fire in Northern...

Nebraska Farm Bureau: Trade Conflicts Cost State $1.2B

Dec 5 2018 // A Nebraska Farm Bureau report says trade conflicts have cost Nebraska farmers up to $1 billion in farm income this year.The report released on Dec. 3 says additional costs include between $164 million and $242 million in...

Fraud Forces Minnesota Agribusiness Giant CHS to Lower 5 Years of Profit

Dec 5 2018 // Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota-based CHS Inc. has lowered five years of profits by nearly $158 million as the global grain, energy and food company recovers after a freight trader falsified records. The farmer-owned...

North Carolina Legislature Finalizes $300M Hurricane Relief Spending

Dec 4 2018 // Nearly $300 million in additional state spending to address North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Florence received quick and unanimous approval from the state legislature and the governor. The House voted...

Democrats, Republicans Tentatively Agree on Farm Bill with Crop Insurance

Nov 30 2018 // Democrats and Republicans said they reached a tentative deal on farm legislation after jettisoning controversial work requirements for food stamp recipients demanded by President Donald Trump and conservatives in the...

Arkansas Plant Board Committee: Regulate Dicamba Use in 2019

Nov 29 2018 // An Arkansas Plant Board committee recommended that the state allow farmers to use the herbicide dicamba next year but extend protections to prevent the weed killer from drifting and damaging crops.The board’s...

2.9M Colorado Residents Now Living in Areas at Risk Of Wildfire

Nov 29 2018 // The number of Coloradans whose homes are at risk from wildfires soared 45 percent in five years, reflecting the state’s booming population and changing uses of agricultural land, state officials said.The Colorado...

Senators Encouraged by Talks on Farm Bill

Nov 29 2018 // U.S. lawmakers are very close to reaching a consensus in days on the Farm Bill, two senior senators said on Wednesday, after months of bitter partisan debate over the legislation to fund $867 billion in food and...

Analysts Weigh Chances Next Congress Will Actually Reform Flood Insurance

Nov 28 2018 // With the clock ticking on the National Flood Insurance Program’s authorization that is set to run out this Friday, Nov. 30, Congress is expected to renew the program short-term by taking one of several routes:...

A.M. Best: National Farmers Union Property and Casualty Ratings Under Review

Nov 26 2018 // A.M. Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a+” of National Farmers Union Property and Casualty...

Report by 13 U.S. Agencies Warns of Dire Economic Effects from Climate Change

Nov 25 2018 // As California’s catastrophic wildfires recede and people rebuild after two hurricanes, a massive new federal report warns that these types of disasters are worsening in the United States because of global warming....

Navajo Nation President Extends Crop Insurance Amid New Mexico Drought

Nov 21 2018 // Outgoing Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye has extended the tribe’s crop insurance amid ongoing extreme drought conditions.The Gallup Independent reports Begaye signed the insurance contract earlier this month....

S.C. Department of Insurance Director Farmer Named President-Elect at NAIC

Nov 21 2018 // South Carolina Department of Insurance Director Ray Farmer was elected to the position of president-elect at the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) Fall National Meeting on November 18.Previously,...

Florida Picks Up the Pieces from Powerful Hurricane Michael

Nov 20 2018 // It has been just over a month since Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle as a Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds reaching just shy of Category 5 status.The devastation from the storm that killed at least 35...