Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Fortner Named NAMIC’s Professional Farm Mutual Manager of the Year

Sep 30 2015 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies presented James Bradley (Brad) Fortner, chief operating office of Farmers Protective Mutual Insurance Company in Rogers, Ark., with its Professional Farm Mutual...

Mississippi Farmers Eligible for Disaster Loans as Drought Parches State

Sep 30 2015 // Farmers hit by the drought gripping central Mississippi are now eligible for federal aid. The U.S. Small Business Administration says it’s offering low-interest disaster loans to small businesses and nonprofit...

Florida Man Charged with Fraud, Theft of 4M Pounds of Citrus

Sep 29 2015 // State agriculture officials say a Florida man is accused of illegally obtaining more than 4 million pounds of citrus, valued at over half a million dollars, from five different individuals and companies. Agriculture...

Farmers Insurance Opens Its 1st Territory Office in Connecticut

Sep 25 2015 // Farmers Insurance, which began providing insurance and financial services to Connecticut consumers on Jan. 1, 2015, announced the opening of the company’s first territory office in the state. The new office, located...

Minnesota DOT: Farm Vehicle Crashes Rise During Harvest Time

Sep 23 2015 // Safety officials in Minnesota are urging motorists to safely share the road with farm equipment as the harvest gears up. The Minnesota Department of Transportation says drivers need to watch out for slow-moving farm...

Bayer CropScience Settles West Virginia Explosion Suit for $5.6M

Sep 23 2015 // Bayer CropScience LP has reached a $5.6 million settlement over an explosion at its Institute, West Virginia, facility that killed two people in 2008, U.S. authorities said on Monday. The company will spend $4.23 million...

West Virginia Livestock Producers Offered Pilot Insurance Program

Sep 21 2015 // A pilot insurance program is being offered to West Virginia livestock producers to help manage financial risk. The Rainfall Index Pasture, Rangeland, Forage program’s payments aren’t based on single weather...

Sierra Specialty Launches New Agri-Services Insurance Program

Sep 21 2015 // Sierra Specialty has launched a new program that provides general liability & professional liability for agri-services, including agricultural crop spraying; advisors & farm managers; pest & weed applicators...

35 South Carolina Counties Designated as Drought Disaster Areas

Sep 18 2015 // Three-quarters of South Carolina’s counties have been designated primary natural disaster areas because of persistent drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this month says 35 of the state’s 46 counties...

XL Catlin Specialty Names Product Line Leaders for Americas

Sep 16 2015 // XL Catlin’s Specialty Insurance division has appointed leaders for its regional insurance products in its newly-created Americas region. The company named product leaders for accident and health, aviation, crisis...

No-Penalty Policy a Standard for Oil Wastewater Spills, Critics Say

Sep 10 2015 // In April 2013, a malfunctioning oil well in the countryside north of Oklahoma City caused storage tanks to overflow, sending 42,000 gallons of briny wastewater hurtling over a dike, across a wheat field and into a farm...

ACE Names Leaders for New Chubb Business Units, Major Product Lines

Sep 8 2015 // ACE Limited today revealed the leadership teams for the company’s North American business units, including national accounts, middle market, small commercial, high net worth personal lines, wholesale/excess and...

Ag Losses in Louisiana from Feral Hogs Estimated at $74M

Sep 8 2015 // Feral hogs cost Louisiana farmers more than $74 million in crop losses and other damage in 2013, according to a new study by the LSU AgCenter. AgCenter economist Shaun Tanger, who’s been gathering data from farmers...

19 Montana Counties Get Drought Disaster Declaration

Sep 8 2015 // Four more Montana counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas due to crop losses caused by drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture added Jefferson, Madison, Teton and Toole counties, bringing to 19...

Declarations

Sep 7 2015 // Crop Insurance “The lack of insurance for malt barley is preventing farmers from planting this crucial crop.” —U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., during his Aug. 20 speech at the Empire Farmstead Brewery in...

Farmers’ Almanac Predicts Harsh Winter for Northeast in 2016

Sep 7 2015 // It’s not what Bostonians want to hear: The Farmer’s Almanac says another rough winter is in your stars. A year after Boston was pummeled with the snowiest winter on record, editors of the Maine-based...

Wisconsin Firm Recalls Sausage Patties with Possible Metal Pieces

Sep 4 2015 // A Wisconsin company is recalling roughly 89,000 pounds of pork sausage patties after officials say consumers complained of finding small pieces of metal. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a news release that the...

Aon Benfield August Cat Report Highlights Global Droughts, El Niño, Typhoons

Sep 4 2015 // The monthly report for August from Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting catastrophe model development team cites the “severe drought conditions” in the western U.S. as resulting in “economic losses...

Fighting Western U.S. Wildfires Costing More than $1B, Agriculture Chief Says

Sep 1 2015 // U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the federal government has spent more than $1 billion fighting this year’s deadly wildfires, which have scorched drought-stricken Western states. Vilsack told a news...

South Carolina Orders Rate Revision for State Workers’ Comp Plan

Sep 1 2015 // South Carolina Insurance Director Raymond Farmer approved an overall revision of +1.9 percent to the state’s voluntary workers’ compensation policy loss costs and a decrease of .3 percent in the assigned risk...