Latest Agribusiness Headlines

All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Georgia Food Manufacturers Not Following ‘Red Flag’ Reporting Law: Audit

Sep 25 2012 // Food manufacturers in Georgia may be dodging a first-of-its-kind law requiring that they inform state food inspectors when their products test positive for contamination, according to an audit of the state’s food...

Missouri’s High Court Favors Insured in Question of Policy Ambiguity

Sep 24 2012 // Is a person hired to perform seasonal, part-time tasks for a company owner, based on a referral from an employee of the company, an employee or a temporary worker? It depends, according to Missouri’s high court...

Best Agency to Work For – West

Sep 24 2012 // A Place Where All Work Together Walnut Grove, CaliforniaMeyer & Cook Insurance A nice office view, lots of raises — and a Costco membership. Those are the keys to making employees happy. And those are among the...

Report Points to Insurance Industry’s Vulnerability to Climate Change

Sep 20 2012 // A report out Thursday urges the insurance industry to act to protect itself and the community against the increasing frequency of extreme weather due to climate change. In short, the report, its authors and those endorsing...

North Carolina Farm Bureau’s Credit Rating Lowered

Sep 19 2012 // A leading North Carolina property insurer has seen its credit rating downgraded due to a significant decrease in its underwriting revenue and its potential for large losses due to hurricanes and other severe weather...

Crop Insurance Losses Mount in Midwest

Sep 18 2012 // Thousands of farmers are filing insurance claims this year after drought and triple-digit temperatures burned up crops across the nation’s Corn Belt, and some experts are predicting record insurance losses —...

Five of Six NAMIC Members Joining ‘Century Club’ in Midwest

Sep 14 2012 // Six mutual insurance companies have been inducted into the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ (NAMIC) Century Club in recognition of 100 years of serving their policyholders. Five of the new members...

Farm Bill, Crop Insurance Reform May Be Stalled Until November

Sep 12 2012 // It may be November before the U.S. Congress completes the new $500 billion U.S. farm bill as lawmakers cannot agree on how much to cut support to farmers or food stamps for the poor. “We’re stuck at the...

Isaac Damage to Louisiana Agriculture Estimated at $100M

Sep 12 2012 // An assessment won’t be finalized until all harvests are complete, but it appears that an estimated $100 million in losses to Louisiana’s row crop industry resulted from Hurricane Isaac, state agriculture...

Michigan Cherry Growers Get New Crop Insurance Options

Sep 10 2012 // U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow says Michigan’s cherry growers are getting new crop insurance options. The Michigan Democrat is head of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. According to...

Government Declares Disasters In 4 Mont. Counties

Sep 7 2012 // The U.S. Agriculture Department has declared Broadwater, Gallatin, Jefferson and Silver Bow counties disaster areas, making farmers and ranchers there eligible for low-interest emergency loans. The assistance is meant to...

North Dakota Farmers Want Changes in Crop Insurance Rules

Sep 7 2012 // Some upper Midwest farmers who thought they caught a break when the federal government eased crop insurance rules for land hit by prolonged flooding are finding it isn’t as easy to cash in as they first...

Aon Benfield August Cat Report Focuses on Isaac; Insurance Cover Disparity

Sep 7 2012 // Aon Benfield’s latest edition of its Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during August, notes that Hurricane Isaac was “the first land falling...

Missouri’s High Court Favors Insured in Question of Policy Ambiguity

Sep 6 2012 // Is a person hired to perform seasonal, part-time tasks for a company owner, based on a referral from an employee of the company, an employee or a temporary worker? It depends, according to Missouri’s high court...

NZ Weather Scientists Foresee Short, Weak El Nino

Sep 4 2012 // El Nino weather conditions, which can bring droughts to parts of Asia and affect crops, have emerged but will likely be weak and short lived, New Zealand scientists said on Tuesday. El Nino is a warming of sea surface...

Report: U.S. Corn Belt Benefits from Recent Rains

Aug 31 2012 // Some key U.S. farm states punished by the nation’s worst drought in decades benefited slightly from recent rains, with more rain on the way from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac. The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor map...

Nebraska, Iowa Officials Watch For Contaminated Corn

Aug 30 2012 // Farmers, crop inspectors and grain elevators in Nebraska, Iowa and other corn-producing states are keeping an eye out for corn contaminated by a poison-producing fungus. They’re watching for signs of aflatoxins that,...

Michigan Cherry Growers Getting New Crop Insurance Options

Aug 30 2012 // U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow says Michigan’s cherry growers are getting new crop insurance options. The Michigan Democrat serves as head of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. She announced details...

Isaac Worries Some Arkansas Farmers, Cheers Cattlemen

Aug 29 2012 // Arkansas agriculture officials say Hurricane Isaac would bring welcome rain to the state, but producers are worried about the stormy conditions that would accompany the precipitation. Pope County Extension Agent Phil Sims...

Louisiana State AgCenter: Isaac Could Wreck Excellent Crop Year

Aug 28 2012 // In addition to destroying homes and buildings and displacing residents in the storm’s path, Tropical Storm Isaac, which may reach hurricane strength by the time it makes landfall, also has the potential to wreck what...