agriculture News

Bees Hit By Winds, Storm Surge, Rain During Hurricane Ian

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This summer has been the toughest in decades on Southwest Florida beekeepers, who were hit hard last month by powerful Hurricane Ian. Ian came at a particularly bad time because beekeepers and honey producers here …

Southwest Florida Agriculture Takes Big Hit from Hurricane Ian

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP ) — Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida at the worst possible time for many in the agricultural community, cutting a path through Florida’s citrus belt and hitting tomato fields just before the start of seasonal …

Puerto Rico Struggles to Recover After Hurricane Razed Crops

ABUCOA, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona destroyed $159 million worth of crops in Puerto Rico when it hit a month ago, decimating fields of plantains, bananas and other crops, the island’s agriculture minister said Tuesday. The U.S. territory’s fragile …

Bird Flu Case Prompts Omaha Zoo to Close Several Exhibits

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium has closed several exhibits and taken other precautions after one of its pelicans died from the bird flu. The zoo said one of its pink-backed pelicans that died on Thursday …

Scavenging for Supplies, Cuba’s Tobacco Farmers Rebuild After Hurricane Ian

PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba –– When Hurricane Ian ripped through western Cuba last week, tobacco farmer Victoriano Maqueira lost the two large barns he used for drying his crop, as well as his dogs, chickens, a pig, his television and …

After Ian, Florida Orange Crop Set to be Smallest Since WWII

Florida is set to have the smallest orange crop in almost eight decades even before factoring in the full impacts of Hurricane Ian’s devastation on the state’s citrus groves. The state will produce 28 million boxes for the current season, …

Drive for Climate Compensation Grows After Pakistan’s Floods

DADU, Pakistan (AP) — Every part of Rajul Noor’s life has been wrecked by this summer’s massive monsoon-driven floods. The 12-year-old girl’s family home is destroyed, as is the school that she loved. The friends she used to walk to …

E. Washington Rancher Sentenced for ‘Ghost Cattle’ Fraud

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — An eastern Washington rancher has been sentenced to 11 years in prison by a federal judge for a massive “ghost cattle” scam that defrauded Tyson Foods and another company out of more than $244 million. Cody …

California Braces for Dry Winter as Western Drought Drags on

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The past three years have been California’s driest on record and state officials said Monday that they’re preparing for the streak to continue. The official water year concluded Friday, marking an end to a period that …

Could be Months Before Sanctuary Reopens After Bird Flu

It could be months before a Georgia animal sanctuary reopens after being closed by bird flu that killed wild vultures roosting there, part of an outbreak that has led to 40.3 million deaths in commercial and backyard flocks nationwide. A …