agriculture News

Billions in Hurricane Helene Aid to Farmers to Start Flowing by March 21

Tens of billions in aid for victims of Hurricane Helene should start flowing later this month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pledged last week, but delays are already making it hard this year for some farmers to plant crops. Congress …

Bird Flu Signs Found in Three Veterinarians Suggest Wider US Spread

Signs of recent bird flu infection were found in three U.S. veterinarians, two of whom had no known prior exposure, researchers said, suggesting potentially wider spread of the dangerous virus than has been suspected. One of the veterinarians worked with …

Deep Freeze Will Send Some US Temperatures Plunging

Waves of intense cold will send temperatures plunging as much as 20F (11C) below normal across the central and eastern U.S. this month, triggering ice storms that could down power lines and snarl travel from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic. …

Farmers are Still Reeling Months After Hurricane Helene Ravaged Crops Across the South

Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South. An irrigation sprinkler system about 300 feet (92 meters) long lay overturned in a …

One Company Wants Autonomous Helicopters to Spray Crops and Fight Fires

When Hector Xu was learning to fly a helicopter in college, he recalled having a few “nasty experiences” while trying to navigate at night. The heart-stopping flights led to his research of unmanned aircraft systems while getting his doctorate degree …

Bad Weather Sinks Philippine Farm Output to Worst Since 2020

The Philippines’ farm output dropped the most in nearly four years last quarter due to bad weather, showing a potential drag to growth in one of Asia’s fastest-expanding economies. Farm production value fell 3.7% from a year ago in the …

Autonomous Tech Is Coming to Farming. What Will It Mean for Crops And Workers Who Harvest Them?

Jeremy Ford hates wasting water. As a mist of rain sprinkled the fields around him in Homestead, Florida, Ford bemoaned how expensive it had been running a fossil fuel-powered irrigation system on his five-acre farm — and how bad it …

Hurricane Devastates Southern Cotton Crops Just Before Harvest

Cotton growers are facing devastating losses and delays from Hurricane Helene just as harvest was beginning, marking the latest blow to profits in an already weak market. The storm ripped through the cotton-growing regions of Georgia and the Carolinas after …

Pilgrim’s Pride Agrees to $100M Settlement Over Chicken Farmers’ Pay

Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the largest U.S. poultry processors, agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims it conspired with rivals to underpay chicken farmers, the final and by far the largest settlement in the seven-year-old antitrust case. A preliminary …

Claim on Seized Hemp Shipment Barred, Showing Trickiness of Coverage

International treaties preempt state-based legal actions, giving an air transport company an escape from claims on what a hemp producer said was botched paperwork for an overseas hemp shipment, a federal appeals court said. The ruling by the U.S. 4th …