Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Weak El Nino May Form in Warmer-Than-Normal Pacific
Oct 24 2014 // A weak El Nino will probably develop by the year-end, according to MDA Weather Services. While sea-surface temperatures are warmer than normal across most areas in the tropical Pacific ocean, it still doesn’t qualify...
Former Claims Adjuster Must Repay Farm Bureau $20K in Kansas Fraud Case
Oct 23 2014 // A former insurance adjuster was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution for insurance fraud involving wrecked vehicles, according to an announcement by the Kansas Insurance Department. The Ford...
Minnesota Seeing More, Costlier Farm Equipment Accidents
Oct 23 2014 // Increasingly large farm machinery is causing more costly and potentially dangerous collisions with power lines and poles, rural Minnesota electric co-ops say. More than 2,000 customers of Federated Rural Electric, based in...
Texas Cotton Farmers Say Farm Bill Provision Saves Crop Insurance
Oct 23 2014 // Texas cotton producers say they are pleased to learn the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reconsidered its decision about implementing a provision of the farm bill. The department’s announcement means its Risk...
New Crop Insurance Program to Benefit Small Ag Producers in North Dakota
Oct 21 2014 // Small farmers and ranchers in North Dakota who once were unable to insure their crops will get a chance to do so in 2015 under a new insurance program. Small and mid-size producers will be able to insure all of their...
With $100M in Crop Losses USDA Grants Eight Idaho Counties Disaster Status
Oct 20 2014 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted disaster area status to eight counties in central and eastern Idaho, clearing the way for farms to receive low-interest loans for operating costs. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack...
Global Indemnity to Acquire American Reliable from Assurant Specialty
Oct 17 2014 // Assurant Specialty Property, a business segment of Assurant Inc., has agreed to sell its general agency business and associated insurance carrier, American Reliable Insurance Co., to Global Indemnity Group Inc., the U.S....
States’ Efforts on Climate Change Adaptation: Half Full or Half Empty?
Oct 16 2014 // Who hates that glass-half-full analogy? I’m guessing more than half of you, but let’s not let that stand in the way of using the clichéd-to-death philosophical quandary to illustrate a point being made by a...
Oklahoma Wheat Farmers Seek Drought Loss Relief from USDA
Oct 13 2014 // Oklahoma wheat farmers want the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement now a policy that’s scheduled to start in 2016 that farmers say would help ease the financial pain of ongoing drought. The policy is part of...
Labor Advocates Question Florida Immigrant Workers’ Comp Arrests
Oct 9 2014 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater touted the arrests of more than 100 immigrant agriculture workers last July as an effort to crack down on the costly problem of workers’ compensation fraud. But it quickly...
Louisiana Agriculture Officials Seek Drone Rule Changes
Oct 6 2014 // Louisiana agricultural officials have asked the federal government to loosen restrictions on the use of pilotless aerial vehicles. The Advocate reported the Federal Aviation Administration is modifying drone regulations...
With $100M In Crop Losses USDA Grants Eight Idaho Counties Disaster Status
Oct 6 2014 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted disaster area status to eight counties in central and eastern Idaho, clearing the way for farms to receive low-interest loans for operating costs. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack...
Viewpoint: Costs Bury Insurance Savings Promised in Farm Bill
Oct 2 2014 // When does a $23 billion spending cut result in no savings at all? When it’s part of the U.S. farm bill. Just a few weeks ago, the newest bill — a grab bag of subsidies for farmers and federal nutrition programs...
HCC Insurance Eyes Crop Insurance with Acquisition of Producers Ag
Oct 1 2014 // HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. said has agreed to acquire Producers Ag Insurance Group Inc. (ProAg) from CUNA Mutual Group in an all-cash purchase of ProAg’s capital stock for $110 million. The transaction, which is...
Farm Fatalities Continue Downward Trend in Indiana
Sep 30 2014 // The downward trend of Indiana’s farm-related fatalities continued in 2013 as the state saw 18 deaths, according to a Purdue University report. The total is eight fewer than were reported in 2012, giving Indiana fewer...
New Mexico’s Green Chile Crop Endangered by Weather
Sep 30 2014 // Wet weather in recent weeks has left some of New Mexico’s green chile crop in danger. The Las Cruces Sun-News reported that a hail storm last week was the latest in a spate of precipitation to plague chile fields in...
Idaho Dairy Explosion Kills Worker
Sep 25 2014 // A south-central Idaho man has died in an explosion at a dairy. Authorities tell The Times-News the explosion occurred at about 6 a.m. Monday as 30-year-old Dayne A. Hansen of Rupert did welding work on a trailer. Minidoka...
Deere Mulls Sale of Crop Insurance Business
Sep 24 2014 // Deere & Co., the world’s largest maker of agricultural equipment, hired Citigroup Inc. to look at strategic options for its crop insurance unit as it sells assets to focus on core businesses such as...
Administration Relaxes Food Safety Rules for Farmers
Sep 24 2014 // The Food and Drug Administration has revised sweeping food safety rules proposed last year after farmers complained that the regulations could hurt business. The new proposals would relax water quality standards and allow...
Deere Mulling Options for Crop Insurance Business
Sep 23 2014 // Deere & Company, based in Moline, Ill., announced it is reviewing strategic options for its crop insurance business, which underwrites policies through John Deere Insurance Co., a business unit within John Deere...
