Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
ACE Limited Reports $734 Million Q1 Net Income; $777 Million Operating
Apr 30 2014 // ACE Limited report first quarter, 2014 net income of $734 million, compared to $953 million in Q1, 2013. The decrease came from the capital gain/loss side of the ledger. ACE posted a $207 million capital gain in Q1, 2013,...
PartnerRe Reports $295.7 Million Q1 Net Income; $176.9 Million Operating
Apr 29 2014 // Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd. reported a net income of $295.7 million, or $5.61 per share for the first quarter of 2014. This includes net after-tax realized and unrealized gains on investments of $115.8 million, or $2.20...
Disaster Loans Made Available for New Mexico Small Businesses
Apr 28 2014 // Small businesses in eight New Mexico counties are eligible for federal disaster loans due to the drought. The U.S. Small Business Administration made the announcement Friday, saying the loans can help offset economic...
Top 25 Crop Insurance Writers: SNL
Apr 23 2014 // Wells Fargo & Co.’s Rural Community Insurance Co. is now the largest writer of multiple peril crop insurance after picking up five percentage points of market share in 2013 to surpass ACE Ltd., according to a...
Federal Insurance Plan Aims to Protect Reluctant Dairy, Livestock Farmers
Apr 23 2014 // A plan in the new U.S. farm law to help dairy farmers limit losses from rising feed costs or falling milk prices may become a model in coming years for livestock producers who have resisted similar types of insurance. The...
Agriculture Economists Help Mississippi Farmers Select Crop Insurance
Apr 23 2014 // Mississippi growers at some point this fall will have to make a momentous, one-time decision on how best to insure their livelihood over the next five years. In arriving at that decision, they will depend in large part on...
Feds Widen Probe Into North Dakota Brothers’ Alleged Crop Insurance Scam
Apr 22 2014 // Federal authorities have expanded the scope of their investigation into two brothers from North Dakota accused of intentionally destroying potatoes to collect crop insurance payments. The original indictment alleged that...
El Nino Seen Starting by July as UN Highlights Risk to Rice
Apr 22 2014 // An El Nino will probably start as soon as July, according to the Australian government forecaster, adding to predictions for the event that can affect weather patterns worldwide and roil farm-commodity prices. All the...
Farmers Insurance Expects $75M in Claims from Midwest Storms
Apr 17 2014 // A system of severe weather moving through multiple Midwest states in early April brought tornadoes, hail, severe winds and flooding in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. Farmers Insurance estimates that its expected...
California Drought Spawns Well Drilling Boom
Apr 16 2014 // The scarcity of irrigation water in drought-stricken California has created such a demand for well drilling services that Central Valley farmer Bob Smittcamp is taking matters into his own hands. He’s buying a...
Agents Brewing Up Program Business for Craft Beermakers
Apr 16 2014 // Craft beers have been capturing an increasing share of the domestic beer market over the past decade and this specialty niche is still growing. By 2020, America’s craft brewers will have more than 20 percent market...
70% Chance of El Nino Extreme Weather Event in 2014: Australian Meteorologists
Apr 8 2014 // The chance of an El Nino weather event developing in 2014 now exceeds 70 percent, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday, raising the prospect of damaging floods and droughts across the globe. Global cocoa...
Top 10 States and Cities for Job Growth
Apr 7 2014 // North Dakota, California, Texas and Florida did well in job growth in 2013 while Arkansas and Pennsylvania lagged and West Virginia was the only state to lose jobs. Overall, 12 states showed job growth of at least two...
Idaho’s Elmore County Disaster Area: USDA
Apr 3 2014 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture has added a southern Idaho county to its list of Idaho regions considered natural disaster areas because of drought. The department designated Elmore County a primary natural disaster...
Ag Tourism Liability Bill Passes Wisconsin Senate
Apr 3 2014 // Farmers wouldn’t be financially liable for the death of someone participating in an agricultural tourism activity under a bill that has cleared the Wisconsin Senate. Agricultural tourism is growing in popularity as...
Tornado in Western Minnesota Damages Farms
Apr 2 2014 // A tornado has damaged at least three farms in rural Minnesota, but no injuries are reported. Yellow Medicine County Sheriff Bill Flaten said in a statement the tornado was reported about 4 p.m. on March 31 southeast of St....
South Dakota Judge: No Dismissal of $1.2B ‘Pink Slime’ Defamation Suit
Mar 31 2014 // A South Dakota judge has refused to throw out a defamation lawsuit against ABC related to its coverage of a meat product called lean, finely textured beef, which critics have dubbed “pink slime.” Beef Products...
Farmers Insurance Looks to Add 200-Plus Agency Owners in Texas
Mar 27 2014 // Property/casualty multiline insurer, Farmers Insurance, plans to add 244 agency owners throughout Texas in the coming year. Farmers announced it is offering special incentives to military veterans, reservists and bilingual...
Wildfire Bill Again Delayed In Colorado Legislature
Mar 24 2014 // The Colorado Legislature has once again delayed a vote on a bill aimed at preventing agricultural fires from starting wildfires. The move on Friday came after its sponsor said he wanted to kill the proposal because farmers...
N.Y. Sen. Urges USDA to Help Educate Dairy Farmers on Insurance Options
Mar 19 2014 // The recently-passed Agricultural Act of 2014 — also known as the 2014 Farm Bill — has a new dairy support program that is a significant improvement from the expiring Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program,...
