Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Labor Commissioner Issues Fines of $267,600 During Statewide Enforcement Activity
Nov 21 2008 // Investigators from the California Labor Commissioners’ Office issued 71 citations totaling $267,600 in fines in a two-day statewide enforcement sweep of businesses in the agricultural industry including nurseries,...
Study Links Parkinson’s, Agricultural Fungicide
Nov 20 2008 // A new study has made a connection between Parkinson’s disease and residents in California’s San Joaquin Valley who have experienced long-term exposure to certain pesticides. A University of California, Los...
Farmers Group Inc. Names Hopkins Chairman, Woudstra CEO
Nov 18 2008 // Farmers Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services Group, has promoted Paul Hopkins to Chairman of the Board. In addition, Hopkins will assume responsibilities overseeing Zurich’s Latin...
Illinois’ Archer Daniels Midland Co. Acquires Shares of Agriserve Inc.
Nov 12 2008 // Archer Daniels Midland Company announced on Nov. 11 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Agrinational Insurance Company, has acquired 50 percent of the shares of Agriserve Inc. (ASI). Agrinational has also acquired an option...
Farmers Insurance Partners with Utah Gang Investigator Association
Nov 10 2008 // Recognizing the growing menace of gangs in Utah, Farmers Insurance Group of Companies has partnered with the Utah Gang Investigator Association and Law enforcement agencies through the sponsorship of a parent guidebook to...
Farmers Plans to Raise Rates in Texas
Nov 10 2008 // Farmers Insurance has filed for an average rate increase of 9.9 percent for homeowners insurance policies in Texas effective in February, state and company officials said. The Texas Department of Insurance says it is...
Oregon Organic Farmer Warns of Genetic Contamination
Nov 3 2008 // An organic farmer from Philomath, Ore., says he plans a legal challenge to genetically modified crops because he fears contamination. Frank Morton says he is concerned about modified sugar beet seeds that scientists with...
Kentucky Farm Bureau Deploys Guidewire ClaimCenter
Oct 31 2008 // Louisville, Ky.-based Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. deployed Guidewire ClaimCenter as its next generation claims management system. ClaimCenter replaces KFB’s legacy claims system. KFB said it deployed...
Business Income And Dependent Property Coverage Rescues More Than Just Dairy Farmers
Oct 28 2008 // Eighty-eight dairy farmers in western Vermont and New York have taken a major economic hit from a Sept. 29 fire at the Saputo Cheese USA plant in Hinesburg, Vt. (about 12 miles southeast of Burlington). Ten to 12 percent...
Farmers Insurance Launches Web Site for Women
Oct 24 2008 // Nine in 10 women in America participate in or direct the financial decisions for their families. In addition, many are looking after their families’ everyday needs and have careers outside the home. With that in...
Farmers Insurance Opens Business Development Center in Riverside
Oct 20 2008 // Farmers Insurance whas opened a new Business Development Center in Riverside, Calif. The company expects more than 250 new agents will be appointed from this facility in the next few years. The company said opening the...
Southern Drought Creeping Northward to West Virginia
Oct 20 2008 // Extreme drought conditions, the second-worst possible, have now spread into Kentucky, and severe conditions have returned to West Virginia and southwest Virginia, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. “The last...
Hurricanes, Credit Crunch Hit Louisiana, Texas Agriculture
Oct 20 2008 // Like farmers and ranchers across the United States, agriculture producers in Texas and Louisiana have been impacted by rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and they fear the credit squeeze gripping the nation will make it...
Armed & Ready to Outsell the Competition
Oct 20 2008 // West Coast’s Interwest Insurance Services Remains Militant on Sales Top 100 Agency Profile Ranking: 12 Agency Name: InterWest Insurance Services Inc. Headquarters: Sacramento, Calif. Year Founded: 1992 Additional...
From Seed to Supermarket
Oct 20 2008 // Agricultural Risks Require the Knowledge and Skill of Specialty Agents Agribusiness insurance has grown significantly as food production has become a global commodity. Since World War II there has been a dramatic reduction...
Corn-Filled Silo Collapses on Pennsylvania Dairy Farm
Oct 17 2008 // A silo filled with chopped corn came crashing down on an eastern Pennsylvania dairy farm, bringing electric and phone lines with it — but no one was injured. It happened about 11:30 p.m. Monday at a farm owned by...
Ike is Costliest Storm in Texas History; Price Tag Now More Than $11B
Oct 13 2008 // A month after Hurricane Ike pounded the island, piles of sheetrock, appliances, furniture and family mementos dot most streets in Galveston. Electronic road signs in Southeast Texas flash, “Watch for cows next 20...
Louisiana Senator Says State Declared Agricultural Disaster
Oct 8 2008 // U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., announced that Louisiana has been declared an agricultural disaster by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). On Sept. 10, Sen. Landrieu and the rest of the Louisiana delegation wrote...
National Group Honors Faga as 2008 Professional Farm Mutual Manager
Oct 7 2008 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) recently awarded Patrick Faga, president/CEO, Central Iowa Mutual Insurance Association, Story, Iowa, the Professional Farm Mutual Manager of the Year Award...
Louisiana’s Crops, Forests, Fisheries Suffered From Hurricanes
Oct 6 2008 // Louisiana agriculture, forestry and fisheries suffered an estimated $950 million in losses and damages from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, according to the Louisiana State University AgCenter. The figure is expected to rise as...
