Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Not all North Dakota Farmers Embracing New Type of Crop Insurance

Jan 3 2016 // Officials think education could increase interest in a new type of crop insurance that also might give farmers who diversify a boost. Whole farm crop insurance became available in North Dakota this past growing season. No...

Deadly Floods Disrupting Agriculture, Commercial Operations in U.S. Midwest

Jan 3 2016 // Deadly flooding across the U.S. Midwest is disrupting everything from oil to agriculture, forcing pipelines, terminals and grain elevators to close. The floods have killed at least 30 people and shut hundreds of roads...

Cargill to Sell Crop Insurance Business to Silveus

Dec 30 2015 // Cargill Inc. agreed to sell its crop insurance unit, the latest move by the giant U.S. agricultural commodity trader and producer to reshape its business amid low crop prices. The insurance operation will be sold to...

Ironshore Names DeSantis of Farmers as CEO of Wright & Co.

Dec 29 2015 // Ironshore has named Anthony J. DeSantis as chief executive officer of Wright & Co, a wholly -owned program administrator subsidiary. He will be responsible for leading Wright & Co.’s existing direct to...

South Carolina Lawmaker Plans to Seek Additional Aid for Farmers

Dec 28 2015 // The state House’s budget leader says he wants to reassure South Carolina farmers devastated by October’s flooding disaster that the Legislature will help them out. Lawmakers must help farmers survive direct...

Maryland Commissioner to Meet With Local Farmers to Discuss P/C Insurance

Dec 21 2015 // Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, Jr. and Secretary of Agriculture Joe Bartenfelder will hold a joint meeting to promote awareness of insurance products available to the state’s agricultural community. The...

South Carolina Insurers to Weather at Least $181M in Claims from October Storm

Dec 21 2015 // The mega-storm that devastated South Carolina in early October is estimated to have cost more than $1.4 billion with insurers paying around $181 million of those losses in claims, so far. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley...

Judge in California Grants Class Action in Farmers Female Attorneys Suit

Dec 21 2015 // A U.S. District judge in California earlier this month granted class action status to a suit brought by female attorneys against Farmers Insurance for discriminatory practices. The initial suit was filed on behalf of Lynne...

Zurich Insurance to Buy Wells Fargo Crop Insurance Unit

Dec 18 2015 // Zurich Insurance Group AG agreed to buy a Wells Fargo & Co. crop insurance business for as much as $1.05 billion as the Swiss company puts to work excess cash left over from a separate takeover bid that it abandoned...

Feds Investigating Potential Crop Insurance Fraud in Kentucky

Dec 17 2015 // Federal investigators say they believe Central Kentucky tobacco farmers, crop insurance agents, tobacco warehouse owners and others conspired to defraud thousands and possibly millions of dollars from the U.S. Department...

Disaster Loans Available to Agricultural Entities in South Carolina

Dec 14 2015 // The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Dec. 8 that federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most...

Judge in California Grants Class Action Status in Farmers Female Attorneys Suit

Dec 10 2015 // A U.S. District judge in California has granted class action status to a suit brought by female attorneys against Farmers Insurance for discriminatory practices. The initial suit was filed on behalf of Lynne Coates, who...

Investors Assess El Niño Effect on Businesses from Bug Killers to Insurers

Dec 10 2015 // As the El Niño weather phenomenon makes the U.S. Northeast warmer, the Midwest drier, and the South and the West wetter this winter, Eric Marshall, portfolio manager of the $2 billion Hodges Small Cap fund, is not one of...

South Carolina Governor Denies Farmer Request to Seek Storm Loss Aid

Dec 9 2015 // Farmers packed the South Carolina Statehouse on Monday to beg Gov. Nikki Haley to ask Congress for money to offset their estimated $376 million in losses from last month’s historic flooding. But the Republican...

South Carolina Insurers to Weather At Least $181M in Claims from October Storm

Dec 8 2015 // A pickup truck rests against the side of Gills Creek near a bridge in Columbia, S.C., Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. Days of torrential rains kept much of South Carolina and its capital gripped by floodwaters early Monday. (AP...

Disaster Loans Made Available to 9 Kentucky Counties

Dec 7 2015 // The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that federal economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private...

Kentucky Farmers See Drop in Cash Receipts

Dec 6 2015 // After a period of record cash receipts, Kentucky farmers are feeling the squeeze from lower commodity prices and sluggish exports. University of Kentucky ag economists predicted Dec. 3 that statewide farm cash receipts...

Washington Dairy Worker Death May Lead to More Regulations

Dec 4 2015 // The investigation into the death of a Mabton, Wash. dairy worker who drowned in a manure pit shows the man had drugs in his system. Randy Vasquez drowned March 4 in a manure storage lagoon at Riverview Ranch. The dairy was...

Highway Bill Restores Crop Insurance Funding Cut in Budget Deal

Dec 4 2015 // The $305 billion highway bill that was agreed upon by the House and Senate and is on its way to President Obama’s desk has a little something for everyone, including farmers and crop insurers. The five-year measure,...

Transportation Bill Would Undo Billions in Crop Insurance Savings

Dec 3 2015 // The FAST Act (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act) is aptly named, but for all the wrong reasons. The process for getting to final passage for the federal transportation bill actually has been incredibly long...