Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Bayer CropScience Settles West Virginia Explosion Suit for $5.6M

Sep 23 2015 // Bayer CropScience LP has reached a $5.6 million settlement over an explosion at its Institute, West Virginia, facility that killed two people in 2008, U.S. authorities said on Monday. The company will spend $4.23 million...

West Virginia Livestock Producers Offered Pilot Insurance Program

Sep 21 2015 // A pilot insurance program is being offered to West Virginia livestock producers to help manage financial risk. The Rainfall Index Pasture, Rangeland, Forage program’s payments aren’t based on single weather...

Sierra Specialty Launches New Agri-Services Insurance Program

Sep 21 2015 // Sierra Specialty has launched a new program that provides general liability & professional liability for agri-services, including agricultural crop spraying; advisors & farm managers; pest & weed applicators...

35 South Carolina Counties Designated as Drought Disaster Areas

Sep 18 2015 // Three-quarters of South Carolina’s counties have been designated primary natural disaster areas because of persistent drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this month says 35 of the state’s 46 counties...

XL Catlin Specialty Names Product Line Leaders for Americas

Sep 16 2015 // XL Catlin’s Specialty Insurance division has appointed leaders for its regional insurance products in its newly-created Americas region. The company named product leaders for accident and health, aviation, crisis...

No-Penalty Policy a Standard for Oil Wastewater Spills, Critics Say

Sep 10 2015 // In April 2013, a malfunctioning oil well in the countryside north of Oklahoma City caused storage tanks to overflow, sending 42,000 gallons of briny wastewater hurtling over a dike, across a wheat field and into a farm...

ACE Names Leaders for New Chubb Business Units, Major Product Lines

Sep 8 2015 // ACE Limited today revealed the leadership teams for the company’s North American business units, including national accounts, middle market, small commercial, high net worth personal lines, wholesale/excess and...

Ag Losses in Louisiana from Feral Hogs Estimated at $74M

Sep 8 2015 // Feral hogs cost Louisiana farmers more than $74 million in crop losses and other damage in 2013, according to a new study by the LSU AgCenter. AgCenter economist Shaun Tanger, who’s been gathering data from farmers...

19 Montana Counties Get Drought Disaster Declaration

Sep 8 2015 // Four more Montana counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas due to crop losses caused by drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture added Jefferson, Madison, Teton and Toole counties, bringing to 19...

Declarations

Sep 7 2015 // Crop Insurance “The lack of insurance for malt barley is preventing farmers from planting this crucial crop.” —U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., during his Aug. 20 speech at the Empire Farmstead Brewery in...

Farmers’ Almanac Predicts Harsh Winter for Northeast in 2016

Sep 7 2015 // It’s not what Bostonians want to hear: The Farmer’s Almanac says another rough winter is in your stars. A year after Boston was pummeled with the snowiest winter on record, editors of the Maine-based...

Wisconsin Firm Recalls Sausage Patties with Possible Metal Pieces

Sep 4 2015 // A Wisconsin company is recalling roughly 89,000 pounds of pork sausage patties after officials say consumers complained of finding small pieces of metal. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a news release that the...

Aon Benfield August Cat Report Highlights Global Droughts, El Niño, Typhoons

Sep 4 2015 // The monthly report for August from Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting catastrophe model development team cites the “severe drought conditions” in the western U.S. as resulting in “economic losses...

Fighting Western U.S. Wildfires Costing More than $1B, Agriculture Chief Says

Sep 1 2015 // U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the federal government has spent more than $1 billion fighting this year’s deadly wildfires, which have scorched drought-stricken Western states. Vilsack told a news...

South Carolina Orders Rate Revision for State Workers’ Comp Plan

Sep 1 2015 // South Carolina Insurance Director Raymond Farmer approved an overall revision of +1.9 percent to the state’s voluntary workers’ compensation policy loss costs and a decrease of .3 percent in the assigned risk...

Hudson Crop Launches Total Revenue Coverage

Aug 26 2015 // Hudson Insurance Co. has added Total Revenue Coverage (TRC) to Hudson Crop’s suite of private products. TRC is a supplemental insurance policy to multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) that offers farmers a single, firm,...

Farmers’ Almanac Predicts Harsh Winter for Northeast in 2016

Aug 25 2015 // It’s not what Bostonians want to hear: The Farmer’s Almanac says another rough winter is in your stars. A year after Boston was pummeled with the snowiest winter on record, editors of the Maine-based...

Feds Urged to Establish Crop Insurance for Central N.Y. Malt Barley Farmers

Aug 24 2015 // U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D–N.Y., is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a crop insurance program for Central New York farmers who grow malt barley. Speaking at the Empire Farmstead Brewery...

Agritourism Growth in Northeast Raises Concerns Over Safety, Liability

Aug 18 2015 // As more farms open themselves up to visitors for apple picking, hay rides and some extra income, experts are advising owners to take steps to prevent accidents — be they small or fatal. Farming is one of the more...

Insurance Claims for Unplanted Crops Jump 48%

Aug 18 2015 // Insurance claims filed by U.S. farmers for crops they couldn’t plant have jumped 48 percent this year, government data show, the latest indication of how adverse weather is curbing production of corn and other...