Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Food Stamp Gridlock Hurting Chance of Congress Passing Farm, Crop Insurance Bill
Nov 12 2013 // The chances of the U.S. Congress passing a five-year farm bill by year’s end are a little better than 50/50 given the gridlock over food stamps for the poor, a top farm policy expert said on Monday. “There is a...
South Dakota Farmer Charged With Filing False Insurance Claims
Nov 11 2013 // A South Dakota farmer is charged in federal court with three counts of filing false crop insurance claims. Fifty-two-year-old Nicholas Berbos has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Trial is scheduled May 13 in...
President Signs South Dakota Blizzard Disaster Declaration
Nov 11 2013 // President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration allowing 14 South Dakota counties and two American Indian reservations to get federal financial help to recover from the early October blizzard that closed roads,...
Washington Apple Crop Tops $2B in Sales
Nov 11 2013 // An apple a day may not keep the doctor away, but it sure lines the pockets of Washington’s apple growers. Apples were worth more than $2 billion to Washington farmers in 2012, the first crop in state history to cross...
AIR Estimates Insured Losses from Europe Windstorm at $2-$3 Billion
Nov 7 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has estimated that insured losses from Windstorm Christian (known as St. Jude in the UK) will range between €1.5 billion €2.3 billion [$2 to $3 billion], with the majority of...
W.Va. Fruit Growers Reminded of Insurance Deadline on Next Year’s Crop
Nov 6 2013 // West Virginia Department of Agriculture issued an insurance reminder for the state’s fruit producers, citing USDA Risk Management Agency’s announcement that the final date for West Virginia apple and peach...
Ag States Group Changes Name to CHS Insurance Services
Nov 5 2013 // CHS Insurance Services LLC is the new name for agribusiness insurance broker Ag States Group, which provides a full line of property/casualty insurance, surety bond products, group benefits, loss control and on-site safety...
Farmers Insurance, Texas Reach Tentative Deal on Mold Claims
Nov 4 2013 // The state of Texas and Farmers Insurance want to settle decade-old claims of overcharging and underserving customers for $117.5 million, which would be one of the largest insurance settlements in state history but less...
Lost Pheasants, Disappearing Grasslands: Is Crop Insurance to Blame?
Nov 1 2013 // The hunters tramp through neck-high prairie grass with a pair of golden retrievers named Moe and Buck, flushing out birds in a freezing autumn drizzle. When one flutters from the South Dakota grassland, Dick Schmith, 58,...
More Charges Possible Over North Carolina Stare Fair Injuries
Oct 30 2013 // A ride that jolted into motion at the North Carolina State Fair, injuring five, had been intentionally tampered with to bypass critical safety devices, a sheriff said, with the ride operator accused of assault in an...
Rain, Snow Help Wyoming Emerge From Drought
Oct 25 2013 // Most of Wyoming has emerged from drought thanks to heavy rain in September and substantial snow over the past few weeks. Only 39 percent of Wyoming is experiencing drought right now, down from 98 percent of the state a...
Senate, House Negotiators Tackle Farm Bill, Crop Insurance
Oct 24 2013 // U.S. Senate and House negotiators, who will begin working on a compromise farm bill on Oct. 30, face a major fight over proposed deep cuts in food stamps for the poor. The leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture...
ACE Posts Record Q3 Operating Income of $857 Million; $916 Million Net
Oct 24 2013 // ACE Limited reported net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, of $916 million, $2.66 per share, compared with $640 million, $1.86 per share, for the same quarter last year. Operating income was $857 million,...
Blizzard-Lost Plains Cattle Will Hurt Area Economy
Oct 23 2013 // An early October blizzard that killed tens of thousands of cattle in western South Dakota will have a staggering impact on the regional economy, the head of the state Stockgrower’s Association said. The direct...
Say Cheese: EU Strikes Trade Deal with Canada; Looks to U.S.
Oct 21 2013 // The European Union and Canada agreed a multibillion-dollar trade pact on Friday that will integrate two of the world’s largest economies and pave the way for Europe to clinch an even bigger deal with the United...
High Crop Prices Turn More Midwest Grassland into Cropland
Oct 18 2013 // When cattle producer Jason Zahn aims his pickup across the gravel roads of North Dakota, he doesn’t see as many native grasses dancing along the prairie. Instead, he sees more and more black. He sees tilled dirt or...
President Obama Urges Congress Act on Farm, Crop Insurance, Food Stamps Bill
Oct 18 2013 // President Barack Obama, in a rebuke to proposals by House Republicans for steep cuts in food stamps for the poor, urged Congress on Thursday to pass a farm bill “that protects children and vulnerable adults in time...
Rural Groups Push Back on Crop Insurance Cuts
Oct 16 2013 // Rural groups say they’ll fight a proposed $100 million-a-year cut in crop insurance subsidies, a measure that has won the support of both houses of Congress and could be a test of agriculture’s influence in...
AIR Worldwide Analyzes ‘Significant Damage’ from Cyclone Phailin
Oct 16 2013 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide “Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Phailin made landfall on the eastern coast of India near Gopalpur in Odisha.” AIR said it was a “large storm, with gale...
South Dakota Ranchers Reeling From Cattle Losses
Oct 15 2013 // Western South Dakota ranchers are reeling from the loss of tens of thousands of cattle in the recent early blizzard, and many will be disposing of carcasses in pits that were set to open Oct. 14. Rancher Heath Ferguson...
