Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AM Best Withdraws Credit Rating of Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. of Michigan
Oct 4 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of C++ (Marginal) and the Long-Term ICR of “b+”...
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Farmers Insurance of Flemington
Oct 2 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Farmers Insurance Company of...
Hurricane Ravages Southern Cotton Crops Just Before Harvest
Oct 2 2024 // Cotton growers are facing devastating losses and delays from Hurricane Helene just as harvest was beginning, marking the latest blow to profits in an already weak market. The storm ripped through the cotton-growing regions...
Flooded Farms, Fouled Rivers, Dozens Dead: Helene’s Rising Toll
Oct 2 2024 // As historic floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Helene recede across the US Southeast, the region faces a humanitarian, economic and ecological crisis of staggering scope, with effects likely to last years. Cotton crops on...
Flooded Farms, Fouled Rivers, Dozens Dead: Helene’s Rising Toll
Oct 2 2024 // As historic floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Helene recede across the US Southeast, the region faces a humanitarian, economic and ecological crisis of staggering scope, with effects likely to last years. Cotton crops on...
Texas Farmers and Ranchers Sound Alarm Over Languishing Farm Bill
Sep 30 2024 // LUBBOCK — Federal lawmakers are sounding the alarm on the economic catastrophe that could happen if a new farm bill isn’t passed by the end of this year, now that the 2018 version has officially expired. Since it...
AM Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of Texas Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.
Sep 18 2024 // AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb+” (Good) from “a-” (Excellent) of Texas...
Two Workers Die in Accident at South Dakota Farm Silo
Sep 11 2024 // VOLGA, S.D. (AP) — Two people have died in an accident at a farm silo in South Dakota. The Brookings County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that the accident happened just before noon Saturday on a farm...
People Moves: AXIS Names White as Head of Aviation, Succeeding Wood; Lockton Re Names Lynn for New Agriculture Practice, Ferrier for US West Coast Build-Out
Sep 3 2024 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at AXIS Capital Holdings and Lockton Re. A summary of these new hires follows here. AXIS Names White as Head of Aviation, Succeeding Wood AXIS Capital...
Romanian Government Plans Drought Insurance Scheme for Farmers
Aug 29 2024 // The Romanian government plans to approve an insurance system for agricultural land as part of a series of measures to help farmers whose crops have been ravaged by drought, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on...
Vibrant Green Fields Signal a Big US Corn Crop and Weak Prices
Aug 23 2024 // Between hail, strong winds, floods and plant disease, US corn crops were put through some tough times this summer. But somehow, the fields of green blanketing America’s heartland have proved to be ever...
AM Best Revises Outlook for Missouri Farm Bureau Group
Aug 22 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) of “a-” (Excellent) of Farm...
Pilgrim’s Pride Agrees to $100M Settlement Over Chicken Farmers’ Pay
Aug 20 2024 // Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the largest U.S. poultry processors, agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims it conspired with rivals to underpay chicken farmers, the final and by far the largest settlement in the...
California Pot Farmers Feel the Heat from Low Pricing, Wildfires
Aug 20 2024 // Small-scale cannabis farmers in California are calling it quits, crushed by crop damage from devastating wildfires and sliding prices, and industry experts expect the exodus to continue near-term in the largest pot market...
Wildfires Are Growing Under Climate Change, and Their Smoke Threatens Farmworkers
Aug 16 2024 // As wildfires scorched swaths of land in the wine country of Sonoma County in 2020, sending ash flying and choking the air with smoke, Maria Salinas harvested grapes. Her saliva turned black from inhaling the toxins, until...
US Undercounts Bird Flu in Cattle as Farmers Shun Testing
Aug 15 2024 // The U.S. bird-flu outbreak in dairy cattle is much larger than official figures suggest due to farmers’ reluctance to test their animals and risk the economic consequences of a positive result, according to Reuters...
Markets/Coverages: Liberty Mutual Re, Insurtech Sprout Offer Parametric Cover for Kenyan Coffee Farmers Facing Climate Risk
Aug 14 2024 // Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LM Re), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has partnered with insurtech firm Sprout Inc. and the Kenyan insurer Britam to launch a parametric insurance product, which aims to protect Kenyan...
Reporting High Electric Bills Helps Nab Illegal Marijuana Farms But Raises Privacy Issues
Aug 14 2024 // Operators of illegal marijuana grow enterprises hidden inside rural homes in Maine don’t have to worry much about prying neighbors. But their staggering electric bills may give rise to a new snitch. An electric...
Farmers to Streamline East Region in Move That Will Mean 84 Layoffs
Aug 14 2024 // Farmers Group is laying off more employees one year after it cut ties with 11% of its workforce or 2,400 people. This time the insurer said it is not disclosing how many people may lose their jobs. However on August 7, the...
Norway Salmon Farming Industry Grapples With Harsh Climate Effects
Aug 7 2024 // Norwegian salmon farmers face challenges from an unusually harsh winter and the El Nino climate phenomenon which led to record fish mortality and concerns over long-term forecasts ahead of a warmer summer. El Nino — a...
