Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Farm Workers Getting Sick, Spreading Coronavirus As Peak Produce Season Begins
May 29 2020 // All of the roughly 200 employees on a produce farm in Tennessee tested positive for Covid-19 this month. In New Jersey, more than 50 workers had the virus at a farm in Gloucester County, adding to nearly 60 who fell ill in...
Coronavirus Cluster Found in Crew of Freight Cargo Ship in Australia
May 27 2020 // A coronavirus cluster was detected Tuesday on a freight ship berthed in the Australian west coast port of Fremantle, raising questions about why local authorities weren’t alerted to the danger. Six of 48 crew members...
Workers Worry Over Enforcement of Meatpacking Plant Safety Recommendations
May 22 2020 // Federal recommendations meant to keep meatpacking workers safe as they return to plants that were shuttered by the coronavirus have little enforcement muscle behind them, fueling anxiety that working conditions could put...
Credit Ratings of United Farm Bureau of Indiana Group Upgraded
May 21 2020 // AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “a” from “a-” of the members of United Farm...
Minnesota Governor Signs Bill Aiding Farmers Facing Foreclosure
May 20 2020 // Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed a bill that stops farm foreclosures until Dec. 1 for farmers struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic who elect to take part in creditor mediation. Minnesota’s...
Coronavirus Blocks Farm Laborers from Working in UK – in Possible Foretaste of Brexit
May 18 2020 // Britain’s fruit and vegetable farmers have long dreaded their country’s exit from the European Union, worrying that it would keep out the tens of thousands of Eastern European workers who come every year to...
U.S. Completes Overhaul of Biotech Farm Product Regulations
May 18 2020 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday a rule that will simplify or waive agency reviews of certain biotech farm products, including plants and seeds that have been genetically modified or engineered. As...
Florida Man Charged with Starting 343-Acre Wildfire in Panhandle
May 15 2020 // A Florida Panhandle man who set up an illegal burn barrel on his property caused a wildfire that torched approximately 343 acres (139 hectares) of wild lands and damaged or destroyed about 59 homes, state officials...
Washington Mandates New Farmworker Housing Emergency Rules for Pandemic
May 13 2020 // New emergency rules adopted on Wednesday regarding temporary farmworker housing are designed to help increase worker safety and reduce the spread of COVID-19, those who created the rules say. The rules detail specific...
Wildfires Rage in Florida Panhandle; More Than 1K People Evacuated
May 8 2020 // Firefighters in the Florida Panhandle have been battling wildfires that forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes, and a stretch of Interstate 10 remained closed in both directions Thursday morning due to...
Ben & Jerry’s Scoops a Win in ‘Happy Cows’ Lawsuit
May 8 2020 // Ben & Jerry’s won the dismissal on Thursday of a lawsuit by an environmental advocate who claimed the company deceived consumers by saying it used milk and cream from “happy cows” on “Caring...
How Coronavirus Shutdown Impacts Bayer Stance in Glyphosate Settlement
Apr 29 2020 // Bayer said the economic downturn and the need to preserve cash means it is taking a tougher stance in talks to settle claims over accusations that its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer, even as its earnings...
Firm ‘Devastated’ by Fire at Large Ohio Egg Farm, Official Says
Apr 23 2020 // Authorities say a fast-moving fire at a large egg farm in Ohio destroyed one large building and also killed hens in other buildings. The blaze reported shortly before 3:30 a.m. at the Trillium Farms facility in Croton sent...
Sompo Int’l Forms Agricultural Insurance Partnership with Portuguese MGA ATLAS
Apr 22 2020 // Sompo International Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, announced that its global agriculture platform, AgriSompo, has entered into a partnership with...
North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance to Give Insureds 20% Dividend on Auto Premiums
Apr 22 2020 // North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance will provide a 20% dividend payment to its automobile policyholders for April and May 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced the “Here for You...
Lawsuit Seeking Greater Protections for Washington Farmworkers
Apr 20 2020 // Advocates for farm workers in Washington state have filed a lawsuit against the state seeking safer working conditions as the harvest season begins amid a coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of workers are already pruning...
Tyson Foods: 2 Iowa Pork Plant Employees Dead After Virus Outbreak
Apr 17 2020 // Two employees have died following a coronavirus outbreak that has sickened scores of Tyson Foods workers at a large pork plant in southeastern Iowa, the company said. The deaths of the workers at Tyson plant in Columbus...
Damage to Iowa Ag Industry from Virus Will Be Huge, Economists Say
Apr 16 2020 // A group of agriculture economists said on April 15 the coronavirus pandemic will cause billions of dollars in damage to Iowa’s crop and livestock industries. In a report released from Iowa State University’s...
Farmers in California Names Conte Head of Exclusive Agent Distribution
Apr 15 2020 // Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Farmers Insurance has named Krista Conte head of exclusive agent distribution. Conte joins Farmers after more than 15 years at Allstate, where she was most recently field vice president in the...
Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee to Distribute $30M to Policyholders
Apr 15 2020 // Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee said it will issue $30 million in special payments to its auto policyholders in the state in response to economic stresses caused by the coronavirus emergency. The special payment is...
