Agricultural News

Risk Strategies Completes Merger Of Cohn-Reid-O’Neill Insurance Services

Risk Strategies Co. (RSC), a national insurance brokerage and risk management firm based in Boston, has completed the merger of Cohn-Reid-O’Neill Insurance Services Inc. (CRO) in Burlingame, Calif., with its West Coast operations. Focused on providing insurance brokerage and employee …

Insurance Industry Outlook Improving, Slightly

The insurance industry is recovering from the economic crisis, but profits are nowhere near where they were prior to the crisis, and it will take California longer than other states to rebound, according to an industry economist. The property/casualty insurance …

Deaths, Injuries Among Midwest Grain Workers Hit Record

Accidents in grain silos, storage bins and other facilities killed and injured a record number of workers through October this year, a study by Purdue University showed. The study showed 46 deaths and/or injuries so far in 2010, exceeding the …

It Figures

$30 Million A Harris County, Texas, jury rendered a $30 million verdict against the Houston-based owner of SunMart convenience stores for defrauding gasoline purchasers, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office. SunMart is owned by Petroleum Wholesale L.P. (PWI). The …

Employers With Foreign Labor Face Increased Liability

Insurance Considerations for Agents Insuring Agricultural Employer Every state has been impacted by Arizona’s immigration law, as there is now a cry for immigration reform. Employers who hire a questionable workforce due to the “dirty” or menial nature of certain …

Crop Bounty Spurs Construction Boom at Midwest Grain Elevators

A construction boom has been under way at grain elevators across the Great Plains, where farmers have grown more corn and opted to keep more of the grain to meet the demand from ethanol plants. Storage capacity at the nation’s …

US Plans to Press China on Trade at Dec. 14-15 Meeting

The United States will press China to make a number of trade reforms to open its market to more U.S. goods and services at a high-level bilateral meeting this month, the U.S. officials said Wednesday. The Dec. 14-15 U.S.-China Joint …

Melting Siberian Permafrost Raises Tricky Climate Issue

The Russian scientist shuffles across the frozen lake, scuffing aside ankle-deep snow until he finds a cluster of bubbles trapped under the ice. With a cigarette lighter in one hand and a knife in the other, he lances the ice …

Hub International to Acquire Assets of Byars Thompson Buchanan Insurance

Chicago-based Hub International Ltd., an insurance brokerage firm, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Byars Thompson Buchanan Insurance & Financial Services LLC, a Santa Maria, Calif.-based insurance brokerage firm. Terms of the acquisition …

Work-Related Deaths Decline in West Virginia

Work-related deaths in West Virginia have fallen to their lowest level since 2002. Preliminary figures released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show 41 workers suffered fatal on-the-job injuries in 2009, down from 53 in 2008. Forty …