Agricultural News

Markets/Coverages: NIP Expands GrowPro Program to Include Agricultural Property

NIP Group announced the nationwide expansion of its GrowPro insurance program. Originally designed to cater to hydroponic growers, greenhouse operators, nurseries, garden centers, and indoor vertical farm operations, GrowPro now includes coverage for agricultural property. The GrowPro program offers a …

Montana’s Resilient Fishing Economy Tested by Climate Change

Montana’s fishing economy has proven resilient amid the impacts of drought, but a new study suggests that 35% of its cold water habitats could become unsuitable for trout by 2080, costing the state an estimated $192 million in annual revenue. …

Drought Will Impact Pacific Northwest This Summer, Experts Warn

Drought is expected to impact much of the Pacific Northwest this summer, including areas in eastern Washington, southern Oregon and southern Idaho, according to climatology and water officials. A recent map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that about 54% …

Drought Indicators in Western States Flash Warnings of the ‘Big One’

Sarah Brunner opened the irrigation spigots on her farm in March, three months early. The rain should have still been falling in California. Now that summer is taking hold, she and her husband are considering shifting their meager water supplies …

New Mexico Lawmakers Say Farmers Shortchanged on Disaster Aid

New Mexico’s congressional delegation is calling for more oversight of a federal agency after some farmers and ranchers were shortchanged on disaster aid and Hispanic farmers who rely on traditional acequias to irrigate their crops have been told they’re ineligible …

Wyoming’s Governor is Seeking Disaster Help for Beet Farmers

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is asking for a federal disaster declaration to help farmers affected by cold weather in October. Two cold spells with warm weather in between harmed sugar beet crops in northern and southeastern Wyoming. The first cold …

Washington Wheat Farmers Oppose Proposed Trump Budget Cuts to Crop Insurance

Washington state wheat farmers are protesting cuts to their safety net programs in a budget proposal released by President Donald Trump this week. The Spokesman-Review review reports growers are concerned about Trump’s proposal to reduce federal spending on crop insurance …

Idaho Manure Pond Deaths Raise Concerns About Farmworker Safety

It was still dark the morning Ruperto Vazquez-Carrera began his shift at Sunrise Organic Dairy in Idaho. It was mid-February 2016. A winter heat wave had melted snow and ice overnight, flooding part of the rural Jerome County farm. A …

Farmers Balk as Trump Budget Caps Crop Insurance Subsidies

U.S. farm groups on Tuesday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash agriculture spending, viewing it as a fresh threat to a struggling farm economy. The White House on Monday proposed $46.54 billion in cuts to federal government …

Study: Injection Wells, Agriculture Harming Bays in Maui

A team of University of Hawaii scientists has completed a study of nearshore ecosystems across Maui that shows the impact of discharged treated wastewater. The findings were published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE earlier this month. The scientists analyzed …