Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Fighting Massive 2016 Wildfire Cost Kansas County $1.5M

Feb 13 2017 // Firefighting costs hit $1.5 million in the county hardest hit by a massive wildfire along the Kansas-Oklahoma border last year. Jerry McNamar, emergency management director for Kansas’ Barber County, said he’s...

Why the Insurance Industry Supports and Hires Veterans

Feb 8 2017 // Many property/casualty insurance carriers have focused their charitable efforts on veterans, and they’ve done so for a number of good reasons. One important reason for adopting veterans causes was explained by Glenn...

Chasing Cows With Drones Must Be a Thing in Utah

Feb 3 2017 // A Utah lawmaker wants to send people to jail for harassing farm animals with drones, all-terrain vehicles and even dogs under a proposal that is unique in the U.S. but has gained an unlikely opponent. Republican Rep. Scott...

Strong Chubb 2016 Results Reflect Benefits of Merger: Greenberg

Feb 2 2017 // Chubb Limited CEO and Chairman Evan G Greenberg said that the company’s 2016 financial results have reflected the benefits of the nearly $30 billion ACE/Chubb merger that created today’s Chubb about one year...

Late Planting, August Floods Hurt Louisiana Sweet Potato Crop

Jan 31 2017 // The LSU AgCenter says late planting and August floods hurt Louisiana’s sweet potato harvest, cutting the yield from 450 bushels an acre in 2015 to 290 bushels per acre last year. Extension Associate Myrl Systrunk...

Building of $7B Legal Pot Economy Underway in California

Jan 31 2017 // The future of California’s legal marijuana industry is being shaped in a warren of cubicles tucked inside a retired basketball arena, where a garden of paper cannabis leaves sprouts on file cabinets and a burlap sack...

Archer Daniels Midland to Sell Crop Risk Services to Validus

Jan 31 2017 // U.S. agricultural commodities trader Archer Daniels Midland Co has agreed to sell its Crop Risk Services (CRS) insurance business for $127.5 million to Validus Holdings Ltd, the companies announced on Monday. The deal,...

Iowa Supreme Court Rejects Water Utility’s Effort Against Drainage Districts

Jan 30 2017 // A divided Iowa Supreme Court on Jan. 27 upheld a legal doctrine going back 100 years that protects agriculture drainage districts against lawsuits. The ruling presents an obstacle for the Des Moines Water Works, which is...

U.S. Floods, Other Major Climate Events Rack Up $46 Billion in Cost, 138 Lives in 2016

Jan 23 2017 // During 2016, the United States experienced 15 weather and climate disasters with insured and uninsured losses exceeding $1 billion each across the United States. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 138 people...

Beazley Joins Markel Livestock Consortium as 5th Member

Jan 17 2017 // Markel International, the London-based specialist insurer that leads the Lloyd’s livestock consortium, has extended the consortium’s aggregate capacity by signing up Beazley as a fifth member. With co-founders...

Grain Facility Closures Bring 1st Claims in Years to Illinois Insurance Fund

Jan 16 2017 // Two grain storage facilities in Illinois have shut down in less than three months, and a state insurance fund has seen its first claims in years. Illinois Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Rebecca Clark said the...

Floods, Other Major Climate Events Cost U.S. $46 Billion, 138 Lives in 2016

Jan 10 2017 // During 2016, the United States experienced 15 weather and climate disasters with insured and uninsured losses exceeding $1 billion each across the United States. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 138 people...

Southeast Regulation Report Card: North Carolina Flunks; Florida, South Carolina Dispute Grades

Jan 9 2017 // North Carolina ranks the worst of all 50 states when it comes to insurance regulation, according to a 2016 insurance regulation report card by an insurance industry think tank. The R Street Institute’s 2016 Insurance...

Markel International Names Brown & Larson to Equine & Livestock Team

Dec 29 2016 // Markel International, the London-based specialist insurer, has appointed Lynette Brown as underwriter in its livestock team and Emilie Larson as underwriting assistant for the equine team. Brown has over 10 years’...

Celebrity Chefs Flunk Food Safety Test

Dec 28 2016 // Celebrity chefs are cooking up poor food safety habits, according to a Kansas State University study. Kansas State University food safety experts Edgar Chambers IV and Curtis Maughan, along with Tennessee State...

Judge Upholds Ban on Guns in Delaware State Parks, Forests

Dec 28 2016 // A Delaware judge has sided with state environmental officials in a lawsuit challenging a ban on non-hunting firearms in state parks and forests. Members of the Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club and the Delaware State...

New Mexico Farming Firm Expected to Lose $4M over Breach

Dec 27 2016 // A breach earlier this year in the water delivery system that serves Navajo Agricultural Products Industry is expected to end up costing the tribal business in New Mexico more than $4 million in lost revenue. The Daily...

Southeast Regulation Report Card: North Carolina Flunks; Florida, South Carolina Dispute Grades

Dec 22 2016 // North Carolina ranks the worst of all 50 states when it comes to insurance regulation, according to a 2016 insurance regulation report card by an insurance industry think tank. The R Street Institute’s 2016 Insurance...

Emerging Risks/Markets Offer New Opportunities: 2017 Predictions, Part 3

Dec 21 2016 // Insurers and reinsurers continue to look for organic growth where they can find it – sometimes from emerging risks and sometimes from emerging markets. As always, the keys to success are market knowledge and...

Nodak Mutual Seeking to Convert to a Stock Company

Dec 19 2016 // A North Dakota mutual insurer with ties to the Farm Bureau is awaiting a decision from the state insurance commissioner as to whether it can proceed with a plan to convert to a stock insurance company. Nodak Mutual...