Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Henle Named South Texas State Executive Director for Farmers Insurance
Dec 22 2009 // Farmers Insurance Group of Companies has named John Henle as South Texas state executive director. Henle replaces Larry Pratt who has been promoted to vice president – Sales in the company’s Los Angeles...
Farm Bureau Mutual Moving Forward with Mutual Holding Company Plan
Dec 21 2009 // Both the policyholders of Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company and the Iowa Insurance Commissioner now have approved plans under which the company will be reorganized into a mutual holding company structure. The plan of...
Farmers Appoints New Southwest Field Operations Executive
Dec 21 2009 // Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. has appointed Senior Vice President Roy Smith to Senior Vice President Field Operations, Southwest Zone, effective immediately. The Southwest Zone includes the states of Texas, New Mexico,...
2009 P/C Insurance Mergers, Acquisitions Large and Small
Dec 20 2009 // Large insurers AIG, Farmers and The Hartford made moves in 2009, as did large brokers Marsh, Aon, Willis, Gallagher, Brown & Brown, Hub and Wells Fargo. So, too, did, many regional insurers and Main Street agencies....
Austin-Round Rock, Texas, Most Secure Large Metro Area
Dec 18 2009 // The central Texas area of Austin-Round Rock is the most secure U.S. community among large metropolitan areas (population of 500,000 or greater) in which to live, ccording to the sixth annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live...
Hawaii Drought Earns Disaster Area Designation
Dec 15 2009 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Maui County and the Big Island primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused this year by continuing drought. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement...
Economists Estimate $309M Arkansas Crop Losses
Dec 15 2009 // Rains late in the growing season that inundated some cropland and pummeled rice and cotton plants caused an estimated $309 million in losses, according to economists at the University of Arkansas Division of...
Two New Mexico Counties Get Disaster Aid
Dec 10 2009 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington has designated Grant and Luna counties in New Mexico as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by drought and high winds that occurred since Jan. 1. Agriculture...
Oregon Fines Farmers Over Re-Rating
Dec 9 2009 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services recently fined Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon $10,000 for improperly using consumers insurance scores in calculating renewal rates on thousands of auto and...
AIG Hawaii Becomes Farmers Insurance
Dec 6 2009 // AIG Hawaii Insurance Co. Inc. is changing its name to Farmers Insurance Hawaii, Inc., heralding in a new chapter in the company’s nearly 55-year history, and reflecting its new ownership under national insurer...
People
Dec 6 2009 // Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Financial Group announced that John Aschenbrenner, president of its insurance and financial services division, will retire at the end of 2009 after more than 37 years with the...
Oregon Proposes Rules for Producers, Crop Insurance Claims Adjusters
Dec 3 2009 // The Oregon Insurance Division has proposed new insurance licensing rules to, among other things, charge agencies a fee for the cost of criminal records checks, as wells as to establishe new requirements for crop insurance...
AIG Hawaii Becomes Farmers Insurance
Nov 24 2009 // AIG Hawaii Insurance Company, Inc. has announced that it is changing its name to Farmers Insurance Hawaii, Inc. – heralding in a new chapter in the company’s nearly 55-year history – and reflecting its...
XL Acquires Unicorn Underwriting to Strengthen Equine Capabilities
Nov 19 2009 // XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Capital, announced “the strengthening of its equine capabilities” with the acquisition of an underwriting and claims team from London-based Unicorn...
Extensions Available for Crop Insurance Deadlines in South Dakota
Nov 16 2009 // The South Dakota Agriculture Department says wet conditions have delayed what looks like a near-record harvest for many South Dakota farmers and raised concerns about a Dec. 10 harvest deadline for crop insurance. In a...
More Heavy Metal Hits
Nov 15 2009 // Heavy Equipment Theft Now Estimated To Be A Sophisticated $600 Million Business On the last day in September, Jerry Dean Ledford was driving a stolen Ford F-250, and pulling a trailer loaded with a stolen tractor, down...
International Excess Opens Agriculture Business Division
Nov 12 2009 // International Excess, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, has launched a new division dedicated to crop, farm and livestock insurance. Chuck Gabel, divisional vice president of International Excess Agribusiness, has...
Oklahoma Lawmakers Eye Business Tax Breaks Amid Budget Shortfall
Nov 10 2009 // Oklahoma gives away billions of dollars in tax revenue through hundreds of exemptions, credits and deductions that some lawmakers say the state may no longer be able to afford as it slips deeper into a revenue...
2010 Agricultural Payroll Amount for Texas Workers’ Comp Set at $49K
Nov 4 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation has set the adjusted annual payroll requirement for the coverage of seasonal workers at $49,127. The TDI-DWI said the established gross payroll...
Midwest Wheat Farmers Reap Preventive Planting Insurance Money
Oct 29 2009 // U.S. farmers struggling to seed their wheat crop will likely reap an insurance check rather than sow in less-than-ideal conditions, analysts and agronomists said. Farmers with prevented planting insurance can receive up to...
