Latest Agribusiness Headlines
All the headlines from our Agribusiness Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Federal Crop Insurance Provides Billions in Profit for Insurers, Says USDA
Dec 5 2023 // Roughly one-third of U.S. government spending to insure the nation’s crops since 2011 has gone to insurance companies that derive more than $1 billion in profit from the program each year, according to a government...
California Cities and Farms to Get 10% of Requested State Water Supplies When 2024 Starts
Dec 5 2023 // California water agencies serving 27 million people will get 10% of the water they requested from state supplies to start 2024 due to a relatively dry fall, even though the state’s reservoirs are in good shape, state...
EWG Report Finds Rapidly Rising Crop Payouts As Climate Change Hits U.S. Agriculture
Dec 4 2023 // Drought, heat, hail, rain and freezing temperatures – the five horsemen of crop insurance. A new report from EWG found that crop insurance payouts for the top five weather-related losses totaled over $118.7 billion...
When Extreme Weather Hits, Smaller Farms Often Pay the Price
Nov 21 2023 // Justin Ralph estimates he`s made about 200 trips delivering grain from the fields he farms with his brother and uncle this year. They`re accustomed to using their four semi-trucks to take the harvest from a total of about...
AM Best Places Florida Farm Bureau Ratings Under Review After Idalia Losses Pile On
Nov 20 2023 // AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “bbb+” (Good) of Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. and...
Skanska Ordered to Pay $1.7M to Florida Oyster Farm for Barges Loosed in Storm
Nov 20 2023 // Skanska USA, part of one of the world’s largest construction firms, was ordered to pay almost $1.7 million to a Florida oyster farmer, three years after the firm’s barges broke loose in Hurricane Sally. The...
Fairfax Offers to Take Agritech Firm Farmers Edge Private at 99% Below IPO Price
Nov 17 2023 // Canadian financial group Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. offered to buy out minority shareholders of agriculture technology firm Farmers Edge Inc. at a price that would crystallize near-total losses for any longer-term...
Zurich’s Farmers Group Seeks More Fee Income Via Acquisition of 3 Brokers for $760M
Nov 16 2023 // Zurich Insurance Group announced that its subsidiary, Farmers Group Inc. (FGI), has agreed to acquire three insurance brokers of the Farmers Exchanges for US$760 million. The deal also includes the Farmers Exchanges’...
EWG Report Finds Rapidly Rising Crop Payouts As Climate Change Hits U.S. Agriculture
Nov 15 2023 // Drought, heat, hail, rain and freezing temperatures – the five horsemen of crop insurance. A new report from EWG found that crop insurance payouts for the top five weather-related losses totaled over $118.7 billion...
1.2 Million Chickens Will be Slaughter At Iowa Egg Farm Where Bird Flu Was Found
Nov 14 2023 // An additional 1.2 million chickens will be slaughtered to prevent the spread of the bird flu after the virus was confirmed on an Iowa egg farm in the second massive case this week. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and...
Nearly 1M Chickens Will be Killed on a Minnesota Farm Due to Bird Flu
Nov 9 2023 // Nearly 1 million chickens on a Minnesota egg farm will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious bird flu after it was confirmed there, officials said Monday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture...
Frederick Mutual Exiting Personal Lines; Signs Renewal Deal With Farmers of Salem
Nov 8 2023 // Frederick Mutual, which is exiting the personal lines market and focusing strictly on commercial lines in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions, has reached a renewal rights agreement with another insurer for the bulk of...
More Highly Contagious Avian Flu Found at Alabama Chicken Farm
Nov 6 2023 // MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — After confirming the presence of highly pathogenic avian flu in a flock of chickens, nearly 48,000 birds were killed at a north Alabama farm, state agriculture officials said. A Marshall...
Farmers, USAA Lead Pack in Hiking Homeowners Insurance Rates in 2023: S&P
Nov 6 2023 // Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. and United Services Automobile Association (USAA) have increased homeowners insurance rates by nearly 15% each to lead all other insurers. According to S&P Global Market...
NIP Group Introduces the Edge Series: Specialized Monoline Insurance Products for the Construction and Agricultural Industries
Oct 26 2023 // WOODBRIDGE, N.J., October 26, 2023 — NIP Group, a premier insurance and risk intermediary, is proud to unveil the Edge Series, a suite of monoline insurance products purposefully crafted for over 50 classes within the...
Slide Assumes 86,000 Farmers Policies in Florida, Offers Appointments to Agents
Oct 16 2023 // Tampa-based Slide Insurance, which has made a practice of assuming Florida policies from other insurers in the last two years, said it has acquired renewal rights to 86,000 homeowner policies from Farmers...
Bird Flu Strikes Turkey Farms in South Dakota and Utah, Prompting Fears of More Cases
Oct 12 2023 // MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Highly pathogenic bird flu has made its first appearances in U.S. commercial poultry flocks this season, affecting one turkey farm in South Dakota and one in Utah and raising concerns that more...
Walmart to Build $350M Milk Plant in Georgia to Expand Control of Dairy Supply
Oct 12 2023 // VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Walmart announced it will build a new $350 million milk processing plant in south Georgia, hiring nearly 400 people. Arkansas-based Walmart said the plant will provide milk to more than 750...
Iowa Farmers Eligible for $5 per Acre Discount on Spring Crop Insurance Premiums for Planting Fall Cover Crops
Oct 5 2023 // Iowa farmers and landowners who plant fall cover crops will soon have the opportunity to apply for a $5 per acre discount on their spring crop insurance premiums, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced. Farmers...
Farmers, USAA Lead Pack in Hiking Homeowners Insurance Rates in 2023: S&P
Oct 4 2023 // Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. and United Services Automobile Association (USAA) have increased homeowners insurance rates by nearly 15% each to lead all other insurers. According to S&P Global Market...
