Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Crop Insurance Industry Pledges Aid and Support to Midwest Farmers

Jun 20 2008 // Flooding across the Midwest has devastated communities across several states. Among those hardest hit are farmers, who have lost homes, livestock and thousands of acres of farmland, said the president of the National Crop...

Ind. Farm Bureau Named Grassroots Network Company of the Year

Jun 19 2008 // Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a long-time, active member of the Insurance Institute of Indiana, has been recognized by the association as the Institute’s Insurance Grassroots Network Company of the Year. The company...

Analyst Sees U.S. Insurers’ Q2 Hurt by Flood Claims

Jun 19 2008 // A group of insurers who cover farmers in the event of catastrophe-driven losses are facing their worst claims in 15 years due to flooding in the Midwest, said a Lehman Brothers analyst, who cut second-quarter earnings...

U. S. Department of Agriculture Mulls Over Options on Midwest Flood Aid

Jun 18 2008 // The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) will look “at everything possible” to aid Midwest farmers hurt by the worst flooding in more than 15 years, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said Wednesday (June...

Insurers Could Be Hit by U.S. Midwest Crop Loss Claims

Jun 17 2008 // Insurers who sell coverage compensating farmers in the event of damage to their crops could be hit by claims from severe flooding in parts of the U.S. Midwest, according to an analyst report. While it is too soon to know...

Iowa Legislative Panel to Study Impact of Flooding on Livestock Industry

Jun 17 2008 // Iowa lawmakers agreed on June 12 to create a special committee to examine the economic impact of this spring’s flooding on Iowa’s livestock industry. The Legislative Council, a bipartisan group that runs the...

Insurers: Don’t Have to Cover Colorado Organic Dairy in Suit

Jun 16 2008 // Four insurers have asked a judge to declare they do not have to pay to defend or indemnify Aurora Organic Dairy against a lawsuit challenging claims about the dairy’s milk. The lawsuit in question alleges the...

Texas Weather Portends Record Agriculture Losses

Jun 16 2008 // In more than four decades of farming, Texas cotton producer Rickey Bearden says he’s never seen an early growing season like this one. In the past month, the South Plains — the world’s largest contiguous...

Swiss Re Study Analyzes Rising Disaster Costs; Role of Risk Transfers

Jun 13 2008 // A new study from Swiss Re examines the rising impact of natural disasters, which is “driving up the cost of disaster relief and reconstruction for the public sector, especially in developing countries where insurance...

Midwest Flooding Forces Evacuations, Bridge Closings, Business Shutdowns

Jun 12 2008 // Flooding rivers across Iowa forced residents to evacuate, closed businesses, wrecked stores and shut down highways and barge traffic, authorities said Thursday. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said storm and water damage to...

Lloyd’s Analyzes Impact on Insurance of World Food Price Hikes

Jun 9 2008 // The rise in world food prices carries implications for both rich and poor countries – the latter will more fully feel the impact, as well as the insurance industry. The recent conference in Rome, organized by the...

California Commissioner Announces Arrest in Felony Insurance Fraud

Jun 9 2008 // Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced Olav A. Flores, 35, of Cedar Glen, surrendered himself to San Bernardino Superior Court after learning an arrest warrant was issued charging him with one count of insurance...

Ministers Meet in Paris to Keep Trade Talks Alive

Jun 5 2008 // Ministers from major trading nations will try to keep struggling world talks alive today, June 5, with supporters saying a deal could help offset the global food crisis and soften the economic slowdown. Ministers from the...

People

Jun 2 2008 // Markel Corp.’s Board of Directors elected Anthony F. (Tony) Markel vice chairman and Paul W. Springman president and chief operating officer. Markel served Markel Corp. for more than 40 years, most recently as...

WTO Issues New Proposals for Services

May 27 2008 // A World Trade Organization (WTO) mediator issued new proposals on Monday, May 26, for opening up services such as telecoms and banking [as well as insurance] as part of a global trade deal. But the new text, replacing a...

WTO Chief Sees June as Turning Point for Trade Deal

May 23 2008 // Negotiations for a global trade deal are likely to reach a breakthrough in June before being concluded before the end of the year, the head of the World Trade Organization said in an interview published on Friday. “I...

Proposals Issued for WTO Doha Deal

May 20 2008 // Mediators in the core agriculture and industrial goods negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued new proposals on Monday, clearing the way for a meeting of ministers to clinch an outline trade deal. The...

EU Commissioner Sees ‘Makings of an International Trade Agreement’

May 19 2008 // European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said on Monday he saw the makings of an international trade agreement in new proposals drafted by the World Trade Organization. The WTO is expected to issue negotiating...

Survey: Washington Areas Most Secure Places to Live

May 19 2008 // Olympia, Wash., and its metropolitan area are the safest places in the nation to live, work or raise a family, according to the fourth annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live rankings from Farmers Insurance Group of...

WTO Tells U.S to Cut Trade Barriers, Improve Exports

May 16 2008 // The United States should cut barriers to its markets to help it tackle economic turmoil, and boost exports to deal with its current account deficit, the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) said. Further adjustment...