Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Thai Group Buys Ping An Stake from HSBC for $9.38 Billion

Dec 5 2012 // A conglomerate controlled by Thailand’s richest man, Dhanin Chearavanont, has bought a minority stake in China’s Ping An Insurance for $9.38 billion from global bank HSBC, a bold move that ranks as Asia’s...

South Carolina Names Lobbyist Farmer as Insurance Chief

Dec 3 2012 // South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has named Ray Farmer as the state’s new insurance regulator. Farmer is a lobbyist with the property/casualty insurance trade group, the American Insurance Association. Farmer replaces...

Congressional Leaders Push to Pass Farm, Crop Insurance Bill

Nov 30 2012 // With time running out, agricultural leaders in Congress vowed on Thursday to do everything they can to pass a farm bill that cuts spending by at least $23 billion – savings that could assure support by lawmakers...

Colombia to Offer Climate Change Insurance to Coffee Farmers

Nov 29 2012 // Colombia is launching insurance to protect coffee plantations hit by climate change, which has damaged output in the world’s top producer of high quality Arabica beans in recent years, officials said on...

Ohio Officials Working to Get Exotic Pets Registered

Nov 26 2012 // State officials continue to work with owners of exotic animals to help them fully register their creatures with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, even though the state deadline for them to submit information was several...

Endurance Acquires Galileo Weather Risk; Launches Global Weather Service

Nov 21 2012 // Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. announced that it has acquired the assets of Galileo Weather Risk Management, a provider of weather risk management products and services, and has hired all of its employees....

Business Moves – Midwest

Nov 19 2012 // Arthur J. Gallagher, Coyle Insurance Agency, Unison Inc., Aires Consulting Group Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently announced acquisitions of three Midwest-based firms — Coyle Insurance Agency Inc., Unison Inc....

Federal Food Safety Program to End in Minnesota

Nov 16 2012 // Minnesota agriculture officials are phasing out a federally funded program that allows them to test produce for contaminants like E. coli and salmonella. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Microbiological Data...

South Carolina Names Insurance Lobbyist Farmer as Insurance Chief

Nov 13 2012 // Ray FarmerSouth Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has named Ray Farmer as the state’s new insurance regulator. Farmer is a lobbyist with the property/casualty insurance trade group, the American Insurance Association. Farmer...

Indiana Farm Deaths Fell to 16 in ’11, None with Kids

Nov 9 2012 // A new Purdue University report says farm-related deaths in Indiana fell to 16 last year and none involved children for the first time in 13 years. The Indiana Farm fatality Summary says the 2011 deaths compared with 23 the...

Post-Election Congress Expected to Target Crop Insurance

Nov 8 2012 // Federally subsidized crop insurance will be a big target for lawmakers looking to cut the budget deficit in the lame-duck session of Congress opening next week, agricultural policy experts agreed the morning after a...

University to Study Safety Practices at Kentucky Horse Farms

Nov 6 2012 // A University of Kentucky professor has received a $1.4 million grant to conduct a multiyear study of health and safety practices of the Thoroughbred industry, which employs more than 10,000 people across Kentucky. Jennifer...

Corn Crop Insurance Payout up to $7.50 Per Bushel

Nov 5 2012 // Corn farmers who chose to pay more to insure their crops at harvest prices have gotten some welcome news from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers who bought the more expensive crop insurance option last spring will...

Coverage Analysis: Sandy and Contingent Business Income Losses

Nov 2 2012 // Insureds joined in a mutually beneficial (or even exclusively beneficial) relationship with another business entity rely on the continued operational viability of that “non-related” entity. Their dependence on...

Ohio Farming’s New Cash Crop: Agritourism

Oct 29 2012 // If you’ve ever picked your own apples or bumped along on a hayride, you’ve taken part in agritourism. But the concept has grown up as more people want to learn about their food. That’s led to local-food...

Drought Not Over, Arkansas Ranchers Cautioned

Oct 29 2012 // Arkansas agriculture officials say recent rains and the greening of pastures aren’t true indications that the drought is over. The drought was particularly hard on cattle producers, many of whom sold more head than...

Willis Expands Acquaculture Division, Hires New Underwriter to Lead

Oct 23 2012 // Recent studies show that wild fish stocks around the world are declining faster than feared – with more than half of fisheries worldwide facing shrinking stocks. As a result the demand for farmed fish is intensifying and...

Midwest Farmers Planted Most of Land Flooded in 2011

Oct 22 2012 // Farmers this spring were able to plant all but a few thousand acres of the land deluged by last year’s flooding along on the Missouri River and the intentional breaching of a Mississippi River levee in southeast...

Texas Landowners Take a Rare Stand Against Big Oil

Oct 18 2012 // Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. Proud...

Fire Damage at Wisconsin’s Largest Dairy Farm Costly

Oct 18 2012 // A fire has damaged Wisconsin’s largest dairy farm. WLUK-TV reports the fire tore through one of the barns at Rosendale Dairy near the Fond du Lac-Winnebago County line around 2:20 p.m. on Oct. 16. Bill Harke is a...