Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Crop Insurance Losses Mount in Midwest
Sep 18 2012 // Thousands of farmers are filing insurance claims this year after drought and triple-digit temperatures burned up crops across the nation’s Corn Belt, and some experts are predicting record insurance losses —...
Five of Six NAMIC Members Joining ‘Century Club’ in Midwest
Sep 14 2012 // Six mutual insurance companies have been inducted into the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ (NAMIC) Century Club in recognition of 100 years of serving their policyholders. Five of the new members...
Farm Bill, Crop Insurance Reform May Be Stalled Until November
Sep 12 2012 // It may be November before the U.S. Congress completes the new $500 billion U.S. farm bill as lawmakers cannot agree on how much to cut support to farmers or food stamps for the poor. “We’re stuck at the...
Isaac Damage to Louisiana Agriculture Estimated at $100M
Sep 12 2012 // An assessment won’t be finalized until all harvests are complete, but it appears that an estimated $100 million in losses to Louisiana’s row crop industry resulted from Hurricane Isaac, state agriculture...
Michigan Cherry Growers Get New Crop Insurance Options
Sep 10 2012 // U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow says Michigan’s cherry growers are getting new crop insurance options. The Michigan Democrat is head of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. According to...
Government Declares Disasters In 4 Mont. Counties
Sep 7 2012 // The U.S. Agriculture Department has declared Broadwater, Gallatin, Jefferson and Silver Bow counties disaster areas, making farmers and ranchers there eligible for low-interest emergency loans. The assistance is meant to...
North Dakota Farmers Want Changes in Crop Insurance Rules
Sep 7 2012 // Some upper Midwest farmers who thought they caught a break when the federal government eased crop insurance rules for land hit by prolonged flooding are finding it isn’t as easy to cash in as they first...
Aon Benfield August Cat Report Focuses on Isaac; Insurance Cover Disparity
Sep 7 2012 // Aon Benfield’s latest edition of its Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during August, notes that Hurricane Isaac was “the first land falling...
Missouri’s High Court Favors Insured in Question of Policy Ambiguity
Sep 6 2012 // Is a person hired to perform seasonal, part-time tasks for a company owner, based on a referral from an employee of the company, an employee or a temporary worker? It depends, according to Missouri’s high court...
NZ Weather Scientists Foresee Short, Weak El Nino
Sep 4 2012 // El Nino weather conditions, which can bring droughts to parts of Asia and affect crops, have emerged but will likely be weak and short lived, New Zealand scientists said on Tuesday. El Nino is a warming of sea surface...
Report: U.S. Corn Belt Benefits from Recent Rains
Aug 31 2012 // Some key U.S. farm states punished by the nation’s worst drought in decades benefited slightly from recent rains, with more rain on the way from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac. The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor map...
Nebraska, Iowa Officials Watch For Contaminated Corn
Aug 30 2012 // Farmers, crop inspectors and grain elevators in Nebraska, Iowa and other corn-producing states are keeping an eye out for corn contaminated by a poison-producing fungus. They’re watching for signs of aflatoxins that,...
Michigan Cherry Growers Getting New Crop Insurance Options
Aug 30 2012 // U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow says Michigan’s cherry growers are getting new crop insurance options. The Michigan Democrat serves as head of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. She announced details...
Isaac Worries Some Arkansas Farmers, Cheers Cattlemen
Aug 29 2012 // Arkansas agriculture officials say Hurricane Isaac would bring welcome rain to the state, but producers are worried about the stormy conditions that would accompany the precipitation. Pope County Extension Agent Phil Sims...
Louisiana State AgCenter: Isaac Could Wreck Excellent Crop Year
Aug 28 2012 // In addition to destroying homes and buildings and displacing residents in the storm’s path, Tropical Storm Isaac, which may reach hurricane strength by the time it makes landfall, also has the potential to wreck what...
Crop Insurance Claims to Exceed $13 Billion: AIR
Aug 28 2012 // The drought in the U.S. agricultural heartland continues to deteriorate crops in the Corn Belt with no meaningful precipitation relief in sight. After the hottest July on record, insured losses from the 2012 drought are...
Drought Worsens in Plains, Despite Cooler Temps
Aug 24 2012 // The nation’s most withering drought in decades only got worse in several key farming states last week, despite cooler temperatures that at least gave those living there a break from this summer’s stifling heat,...
Thompson Named Divisional President at Great American Insurance
Aug 24 2012 // Great American Insurance Group, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, has promoted David L. Thompson, Jr. to divisional president of its Specialty Property and Casualty AgriBusiness Division. Thompson joined Great American in 2006...
U.S. Salmonella Outbreak Tied to Indiana Farm Melons
Aug 23 2012 // U.S. health regulators said cantaloupe from Chamberlain Farms in Indiana may be one source of a multi-state outbreak of salmonella that has killed two people and sickened some 178 in the past month. The farm in Owensville...
Crop Insurers Could Face First Overall Loss in 10 Years: Moody’s
Aug 23 2012 // Record-setting droughts in the U.S. Midwest throughout 2012 are likely to result in substantial gross insured losses for crop insurers and reinsurers and possibly their first overall loss in 10 years, says Moody’s...
