Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Judge Orders South Carolina Authorities to Protect Farmer’s Seized Hemp Crop

Dec 12 2019 // A judge is allowing a South Carolina hemp farmer arrested after authorities said he grew the crop in unregistered fields to harvest some of his crop and put the money in a trust as he awaits trial. The State Law...

Insurtech, Data Help Canadian Farmers Cut Lending, Insurance Costs

Dec 12 2019 // Canadian farmers — grappling with with lower crop income, adverse weather and a trade dispute with China — are using precision-agriculture technology aimed at reducing lending and insurance costs. Collecting...

Wyoming’s Governor is Seeking Disaster Help for Beet Farmers

Dec 12 2019 // Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is asking for a federal disaster declaration to help farmers affected by cold weather in October. Two cold spells with warm weather in between harmed sugar beet crops in northern and southeastern...

Southeast Insurance Chiefs Farmer, Altmaier Elected to Top NAIC Posts

Dec 11 2019 // South Carolina Department of Insurance Director Ray Farmer and Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier have been elected to the positions of president and president-elect, respectively, of the NAIC (National...

Extreme Weather in Greece Brought $1.1 Billion in Crop Damages Since 2011

Nov 25 2019 // In the hills of northern Greece, peach farmer Makis Antoniadis is sweating in unseasonably warm November weather as he toils with his most recent harvest. It might be one of his last. Already grappling with the effects of...

Watch Out Finance, Business, Tech Workers. Artificial Intelligence Is Coming.

Nov 21 2019 // Artificial intelligence is coming for America’s high-paid professions as it creates winners and losers across the labor market like never before. White-collar jobs and better-educated occupations along with...

Hail Has Damaged Insurance Market for Car Dealers. Parametric Insurance May Help.

Nov 14 2019 // Nick Pacifico has been working at his family’s Cadillac dealership in Denver since 2003. He’s never seen insurance costs this bad. “Getting coverage is nearly impossible,” said Pacifico, vice...

AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Pennsylvania’s Farmers

Nov 13 2019 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (good) and the long-term issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company of...

Ben & Jerry’s Is Sued by Environmental Advocate Over ‘Happy Cows’ Claim

Nov 12 2019 // Ben & Jerry’s has been sued by an environmental advocate who said it deceived consumers by touting that the milk and cream it uses to make ice cream came exclusively from “happy cows.” In a complaint...

Farmers Hit by Hurricanes in Alabama, Florida, Georgia to Get $800M in Federal Aid

Nov 12 2019 // The federal government announced $800 million in aid Friday to farmers in three southern states that were devastated by last year’s hurricanes. Nearly half that money will go to Florida, where timber farmers suffered...

Kaufman Group, Burns & Wilcox Promote 23 Associates Including D’Antoni

Nov 8 2019 // Global insurance services firm H.W. Kaufman Group and its subsidiary Burns & Wilcox, a North American wholesale insurance broker and underwriting manager, have announced numerous leadership promotions. Twenty-three...

Vermont Farm Loses 2K Chicken and Turkeys in Flooding, Estimates $60K Loss

Nov 7 2019 // A Vermont farmer says he lost more than 2,000 chickens and turkeys when last week’s flood waters inundated their Richmond farm. Bruce Hennessey, of Maple Wind Farm, says they had moved the animals to higher ground...

AIR Worldwide Launches Multi-Peril Crop Insurance Model for India

Nov 4 2019 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) announced it has released a Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) Model for India to help support probabilistic assessments of potential losses caused by yield shortfalls...

3 Kentucky Farmers Plead Guilty to Crop Insurance Fraud

Nov 1 2019 // Three Kentucky farmers have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to crop insurance fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Lexington says 34-year-old Bradley Price pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money...

Benefitfocus Adds Toggle, a Renters Insurance Subscription Product from Farmers

Nov 1 2019 // Benefitfocus, a cloud-based benefits platform, has added Toggle, a Farmers company, is to its BenefitsPlace offering. BenefitsPlace allows employers, brokers and medical insurance carriers to offer specialty benefits...

Farm Bankruptcies Up 24% on Strain from Trump Trade War

Oct 31 2019 // U.S. farm bankruptcies in September surged 24% to the highest since 2011 amid strains from President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and a year of wild weather. Growers are also becoming increasingly dependent on...

Chubb Continued Performing at ‘High Level’ in Q3

Oct 30 2019 // Global insurer Chubb reported a banner 2019 third quarter, even though the company’s net income took a hit largely from losses relating to an accounting adjustment. Net income for the insurer reached $1 billion...

Hemp and CBD Remain Risky Businesses in Uncertain Legal and Gig Climate

Oct 30 2019 // Executives at Kirby Co.’s home office noticed an odd trend: Its door-to-door vacuum-cleaner salespeople were increasingly involved in the same side gig — pitching CBD oil. Kirby, whose parent company is owned...

Sheriff Says Midwest Crop Thefts Are a ‘Major League Operation’

Oct 24 2019 // A “well-organized machine” of thieves appears to be behind the theft of tons of apples and pumpkins from orchards and farms in Michigan and Indiana, according to authorities. An estimated 7,000 pounds (3,175...

Kansas Farmer Pleads Guilty to Nearly $500K in Crop Insurance Fraud

Oct 23 2019 // Federal officials say a Kansas farmer has pleaded guilty to federal charges of crop insurance fraud and bankruptcy fraud. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said Kevin W. Struss, 63, Wakeeney, Kan., pleaded guilty to one...