agriculture News

Colorado Workers with Bird Flu Toiled in Heat, Without Effective Protective Gear

Colorado workers who contracted bird flu were working during extreme heat and under large fans, factors that made wearing protective equipment difficult and potentially contributed to their infections, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. The …

Workers’ Comp Report on California’s Proposed Presumption for Agricultural Heat Injuries

A bill that would give a presumption of compensability to farmworker heat-related injury claims if an employer is found to be out of compliance with Cal/OSHA’s outdoor heat illness prevention standard would likely create more challenges than it would solve, …

Farmworker Who Survived Mass Shooting at Mushroom Farm Sues Company And Owner

A migrant farmworker who survived a mass shooting last year at a Northern California mushroom farm has filed a lawsuit against the farm and one of its owners, saying they failed to keep him safe from the colleague who authorities …

Top US Egg Supplier Idles Texas Plant After Bird Flu Outbreak

Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the biggest egg producer in the US, has culled roughly 3.6% of its flock after birds at a Texas facility tested positive for avian flu, adding to concerns over a widening outbreak. Nearly 1.6 million laying hens …

West Texas Ranchers Face Losses After Historic Wildfires

There are burned spots on Jay O’Brien’s ranch outside Stinnett that predate the Smokehouse Creek fire. Over the last several months, small fires — ones that weren’t pushed by strong winds or grew out of control — scarred his pastures …

Extreme Weather, Cyber Risks Top Concerns When Insuring Farms

As risks from extreme weather, technology glitches and cyberattacks rise, so does the need for agricultural insurance that can cover a rapidly diversifying and evolving industry. “With the interest rates, production expenses, and cost of diesel constantly on the rise, …

Avian Flu is Devastating Farms in California’s ‘Egg Basket’ as Outbreaks Roil Poultry Industry

Last month, Mike Weber got the news every poultry farmer fears: His chickens tested positive for avian flu. Following government rules, Weber’s company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its entire flock of egg-laying hens — 550,000 birds — to prevent …

Small Farmers Hit by Extreme Weather Could Get Assistance From Proposed 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 …

Floods Strand Cows, Damage Crops as Wild Weather Hits Australia

Heavy rains and flooding across Australia’s southern state of Victoria has damaged crops and stranded cattle as a months-long run of wild weather on the nation’s east coast leaves a trail of destruction. Severe storms have lashed Victoria since October, …

Rules Aimed at Contaminated Groundwater Drive Calif. Farmers and Residents to Court

Near fields awash with strawberries and greens, Ileana Miranda and her family pay $72 a month to get water piped into their home in a rural California community __ and that`s before they consume a drop. They pay to bring …