crop insurance News

Florida, Environmental Groups Settle Lawsuit Over Massive Phosphate Leak

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Environmental groups and Florida regulators have settled a lawsuit over the 2021 leak of millions of gallons of polluted water from a phosphate plant reservoir into Tampa Bay, which triggered major fish kills and the …

Pongamia Tree Moves in on Florida Citrus, Promises Climate Resilience, Protein

An ancient tree from India is now thriving in groves where citrus trees once flourished in Florida, and could help provide the nation with renewable energy. As large parts of the Sunshine State’s once-famous citrus industry have all but dried …

Zimbabwe Gets $32 Million in Drought Insurance From Agency of African Union

Zimbabwe received $31.8 million from African Risk Capacity, an arm of the African Union, as part of an insurance payout for the devastation the country suffered from an El Niño-induced drought. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told reporters on Thursday in …

Rise in Texas Crop Insurance Payouts Driven by Drought

The financial costs of drought in Texas have risen rapidly over recent decades, according to a new analysis of federal crop insurance data. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group, a longtime critic of the federal crop insurance program based in Washington, …

US Farmers Opt for Soy to Limit Losses as All Crop Prices Slump

Mark Tuttle planted more soy and less corn on his northern Illinois farm this spring as prices for both crops hover near three-year lows and soybeans’ lower production costs offered him the best chance of turning a profit in the …

China Boosts Farmer Protection With Nationwide Insurance for Major Grains

China’s Finance Ministry on Tuesday announced the nationwide implementation of full-cost insurance and planting income insurance policies for rice, wheat and corn, as part of a food security drive to encourage planting of staple grains. The policy is aimed at …

Republican Senators’ FARMER Act Seeks to Boost Crop Insurance Coverage

Republican senators this month introduced legislation they say would increase support for crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable to farmers. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D) proposed the Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act, an …

Small Farmers Hit by Extreme Weather Would be Helped by New Crop Insurance Program

Since catastrophic flooding hit Vermont in July and waterlogged crops, some farmers are trying to figure out how to get through the next season. Water washed away seeds planted in the summer at Bear Roots Farm, which grows about 20 …

China Offers Insurance to Rubber Producers to Encourage Higher Output

China’s government said on Monday it has started offering insurance for natural rubber producers, to encourage higher output and increase the country’s self-sufficiency rate in producing the latex used to make tires. The scheme for producers in Hainan and Yunnan …

Federal Crop Insurance Provides Billions in Profit for Insurers, Says USDA

Roughly one-third of U.S. government spending to insure the nation’s crops since 2011 has gone to insurance companies that derive more than $1 billion in profit from the program each year, according to a government watchdog’s report released on Monday. …