AgriBusiness Global: From Farm Chemicals International to Crop Input Hub
Profile updated November 2026
AgriBusiness Global is a business publication for the international crop input trade: the manufacturers, formulators, importers, distributors and registration consultants who move crop protection products, fertilizers and biologicals around the world. Published by Meister Media Worldwide and known until 2015 as Farm Chemicals International, it combines a magazine, e-newsletters, multilingual websites and the annual AgriBusiness Global Trade Summit. Here is its history, its coverage and the editors behind it.
| Former name | Farm Chemicals International (FCI), renamed December 2015 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Meister Media Worldwide, founded 1932 |
| Audience | Crop input manufacturers, formulators, traders, distributors and registration consultants in 140+ countries |
| Format | Magazine, e-newsletters, websites in several languages, video, reports and events |
| Flagship event | AgriBusiness Global Trade Summit, Las Vegas, August 2026 |
| Group editor | Renee Targos |
| Official website | AgriBusinessGlobal.com |
History of AgriBusiness Global
AgriBusiness Global grew out of the Meister family's long-running farm publishing business. Meister Media began in 1932 as American Fruit Grower Publishing Company, a single monthly title for U.S. fruit growers started by EGK Meister. His son Richard T. "Dick" Meister joined in 1946 as editorial director, and during the 1960s and 1970s the company added Farm Chemicals, the Farm Chemicals Handbook, Cotton Trade Journal and other titles. Dick Meister, often described as the founder of the AgriBusiness Global line, died in January 2020 at age 100.
The international edition, Farm Chemicals International, served the global agrochemical trade for three decades and was approaching its 30th anniversary when, on December 29, 2015, it officially rebranded as AgriBusiness Global and relaunched its website. The new name reflected a broader mission covering the whole crop input value chain, not just chemicals. Its Trade Summit, a sourcing event that links manufacturers with distributors from more than 40 countries, was then nearing its 10th year.
Meister Media, now led by third-generation leaders Gary T. Fitzgerald and William J. Miller II, also publishes sister brands such as CropLife, American Fruit Grower, American Vegetable Grower, Greenhouse Grower and Cotton Grower.
AgriBusiness Global Today
AgriBusiness Global describes itself as the leading business source for leaders in the world's crop input value chain. It organizes coverage into crop protection, including biopesticides, plant health, covering biostimulants, NPK fertilizers and micronutrients, and ag technology, including digital farming and sustainability. Its website publishes in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese, and the brand has a general manager for Greater China.
The 2026 AgriBusiness Global Trade Summit took place in Las Vegas on August 5, drawing more than 700 attendees and 90-plus exhibitors for business meetings, education sessions and networking, capped with an Elvis impersonator and poker tables at the evening reception.
What AgriBusiness Global Is Covering Now
Generic crop protection and trade
Off-patent agrochemical markets, sourcing from China and India, registrations, regulation and distribution in emerging markets are core beats for an audience that buys and sells across borders.
Biologicals and plant health
Biostimulants, biopesticides, specialty fertilizers and micronutrients receive steady coverage, and the brand has run BioSolutions conferences, including an Africa edition.
Events, reports and video
Beyond the Trade Summit, ABG produces market reports, newsletters and video interviews with executives across the input chain.
AgriBusiness Global Editors and Staff
The AgriBusiness Global about page lists this team:
- Renee Targos - Group Editor
- Sarah Webb - Editor
- Matt Hopkins - Senior Multimedia Specialist
- Lauren Milligan - Content Specialist
- Juan David Rivera - Commercial Lead
- Yue Li - General Manager of Greater China
- Richard T. "Dick" Meister - Former Editorial Director, died 2020
Who Reads AgriBusiness Global
Its readers are business leaders in the input trade rather than farmers themselves: company executives, formulators, import and export traders, retailers, crop analysts and the regulatory consultants who shepherd products through registration in more than 140 countries.
Those suppliers sell into a very large market. USDA's Economic Research Service tracks U.S. farm production expenses, including fertilizer and chemicals, in its farm income and wealth statistics, while USDA NASS Quick Stats publishes agricultural chemical use surveys by crop and state.
AgriBusiness Global readers spend their working lives on registrations, active ingredients and container shipments, so a break from the trade press is well earned. Those who want one can try farm.FM, which publishes farm satire about the growers at the end of the supply chain. It mixes farm humor with ranch humor and farm jokes, and none of it needs a registration dossier.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
AgriBusiness Global Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- AgriBusiness Global: About our team - staff list and mission.
- PRWeb: FCI rebrands as AgriBusiness Global - the 2015 renaming announcement.
- AgriBusiness Global: Dick Meister remembered - the Meister family publishing history.
- USDA ERS: Farm income and wealth statistics - U.S. and state data including farm input expenses.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - federal data including agricultural chemical use.
AgriBusiness Global FAQ
What was AgriBusiness Global called before?
It was Farm Chemicals International (FCI) until December 2015, when Meister Media renamed it AgriBusiness Global.
Who publishes AgriBusiness Global?
Meister Media Worldwide, the family-owned agricultural publisher that also produces CropLife and Greenhouse Grower.
Who edits AgriBusiness Global?
Renee Targos is group editor and Sarah Webb is editor.
Where is the AgriBusiness Global Trade Summit held?
The 2026 Trade Summit was held in Las Vegas on August 5, 2026.
For anyone buying, selling or registering crop inputs across borders, AgriBusiness Global remains the trade's dedicated business journal, four decades after it began as Farm Chemicals International.