Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

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...

3 Louisiana Parishes Designated USDA Natural Disaster Areas

Nov 19 2018 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated three Louisiana parishes as contiguous disaster areas as the result of excessive rain and flooding that occurred April 1 to June 30, 2018, according to Agriculture...

Kentucky Woman Gets 5 Years, Ordered to Pay $1.6M for Crop Insurance Fraud

Nov 16 2018 // A Kentucky woman was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $1.6 million in restitution for crop insurance fraud. The U.S. attorney’s office in Lexington said 63-year-old Debra Muse of the Wallingford...

Company Faces OSHA Fines Due to Farmworker’s Death in Nebraska

Nov 15 2018 // A federal safety agency has proposed fining a company in connection with the death of an employee who was working in a Hall County, Nebraska, cornfield. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing...

JBA Risk Management Launches India Crop Model for Re/Insurers as El Niño Looms

Nov 15 2018 // JBA Risk Management (JBA), the UK-based modeling firm, has launched an India crop catastrophe model for the re/insurance market.More commonly known for flood maps and models, JBA collaborated with Chaucer through its...

North Carolina Ag Chief Says $250M in Aid Needed for Farmers After Florence

Nov 15 2018 // North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says his agency needs the full $250 million he requested for cash payments to farmers with destroyed crops and dead livestock from Hurricane Florence and another...

QBE North America Sells National Farmers Union to National General

Nov 14 2018 // National General Holdings Corp. has agreed to acquire National Farmers Union Property and Casualty Co. from QBE North America. The estimated purchase price is $43 million.National Farmers Union Insurance writes personal...

Anxious Farmers Look to Lame Duck Congress to Pass Safety Net Farm Bill

Nov 13 2018 // U.S. soybean farmer Mike Schlosser does not expect President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, the single biggest headwind to his business, to end any time soon. But he is among many in farm country who expect at...

Arkansas Plant Board Reviewing EPA Decision on Dicamba Herbicide

Nov 8 2018 // The Arkansas State Plant Board (ASPB), a division of the Arkansas Agriculture Department (AAD), announced it has begun the process of reviewing the announced EPA label changes for the herbicide dicamba and will be...

Iowa’s FMH Launches New Cyber Risk Protection for Farmers

Nov 5 2018 // West Des Moines, Iowa-based Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa (FMH) is now offering FMH Cyber Risk Protection suite, which includes two new cyber risk products to provide protection and services in the event an...

After State Ban Expires, EPA Approves Dicamba Use in Arkansas

Nov 5 2018 // A recent Environmental Protection Agency ruling clears the path for Arkansas farmers to use the herbicide dicamba on soybeans and cotton, ending a state-wide ban on the weed killer’s use.The federal agency on Oct. 31...

Rhode Island Agent Who Offers Equine Insurance Faces Fraud Charges

Nov 5 2018 // A Rhode Island insurance agent who prosecutors say specializes in providing insurance on horses has been arrested on federal charges.The U.S. Attorney’s office in Providence says 57-year-old Randall Levesque, of...