Latest Agribusiness Headlines

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

Virginia Farm Bureau Acquires Countryway

May 11 2011 // Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. has acquired New York-based Countryway Insurance Co. Countryway has premiums in excess of $33 million and operates primarily in rural New England, New York, New Jersey,...

FEMA Defends Lack of Disaster Declaration Over Texas Wildfires

May 5 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency defended its decision to refuse more assistance for Texas in the wake of devastating wildfires, saying that the state has already received sufficient U.S. government help.Gov. Rick...

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses Arkansas Poultry Company Appeal

May 5 2011 // The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by an Arkansas-based company that was ordered to pay $14.5 million to Oklahoma poultry farmers.The court declined without comment to hear the appeal by Fort Smith-based...

Missouri Farmers Sue Over Levee Breach; Feds Say Help Available

May 5 2011 // The dramatic, late-night demolition of a huge earthen levee sent chocolate-colored floodwaters pouring onto thousands of acres of Missouri farmland on May 3, easing the threat to a tiny Illinois town being menaced by the...

Mayor Orders Flood-Threatened Illinois City Evacuated

May 2 2011 // Authorities in a southern Illinois city menaced by two dangerously swollen rivers said on May 1 that most of the city’s remaining residents have heeded a mandatory evacuation order, prompted by river water seeping up...

Officials Target ‘Rebating’ in Federal Crop Insurance Sales

May 2 2011 // Farmers and insurance agents who sell federal crop insurance policies may soon be required to certify that they are not participating any rebating or incentive schemes related to the sales of those policies.The 2008...

Obama, Cabinet Vow Urgent Aid for Storm-Battered Southern States

May 1 2011 // Federal officials vowed urgent support Sunday for a region devastated by the deadliest U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina, even as they acknowledged recovery would not be quick or easy.President Barack...

Japan to Launch Massive Search for Quake Victims Bodies

Apr 25 2011 // Japan will send nearly 25,000 soldiers backed by boats and aircraft into its disaster zone Monday on an intensive land-and-sea mission to recover the bodies of those killed by last month’s earthquake and tsunami, the...

WTO Faces Tough Choices after Latest Doha Round Setback

Apr 22 2011 // World Trade Organization members face a somber Easter Sunday because of a fight over manufacturing trade between the United States and major emerging economies like China, India and Brazil that could finally kill...

Cattle, Crops at Risk From North Dakota Floods, Snow

Apr 21 2011 // Snowstorms on top of flooding in North Dakota have not yet resulted in many cattle deaths as feared, but lingering cold, wet weather threatens the state’s herd, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said.Spring...

Hopkins to Retire from Zurich Executive Posts; Farmers Chairman

Apr 21 2011 // The Zurich Financial Services Group announced that after a 33-year career with the company, Paul N. Hopkins will retire as a member of the Group Executive Committee, regional chairman of the Americas for Zurich, and...

Ohio Non-Insured Property Exclusion Case Sent Back to Lower Court

Apr 20 2011 // The Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled that a trial court must reconsider arguments in a lawsuit over an exclusion in a homeowners’ insurance policy that bars coverage for claims “arising out of” premises...

Aspen Risk Management Adds Flute as Sales Rep

Apr 20 2011 // Aspen Risk Management Group has added Al Flute as a sales and service representative in San Diego. Flute has a diverse safety and health background working for The Zenith and Nationwide. His responsibilities included...

South Central States Assess Damage from Recent Storms

Apr 18 2011 // Tornadoes, violent thunderstorms, high wind and hail struck large swaths of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas last week and now those states are beginning the process of assessing the damage.In Arkansas, storms...

Red River Floods Fields, but U.S. Farmers Ready

Apr 12 2011 // Record flooding in parts of the U.S. Red River Valley has slowed grain movement, but lake-like fields are nothing new to farmers who battle flooding on some scale each spring, industry officials said.The Red River, which...

Federal Budget Cuts Eliminate Crop Insurance Premium Refunds

Apr 12 2011 // The budget deal agreed to by President Barack Obama and Republican and Democratic leaders last Friday to avoid a government shutdown calls for $28 billion in spending cuts to the budget to fund the government until Sept....

Ascension Insurance Acquires California’s Walter L. Clark & Associates

Apr 8 2011 // Kansas City, Mo.-based Ascension Insurance Inc. announced it acquired Walter L. Clark & Associates Inc., headquartered in Fresno, Calif., effective March 31, 2011.Walter L. Clark & Associates offers commercial...

ICC Warns Doha Failure Would Have Dire Consequences for World Economy

Apr 7 2011 // The Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued a bulletin strongly supporting a call from the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a breakthrough in the Doha Round of talks in April, “if these...

Officials Look to Curb ‘Rebating’ in Sales of Federal Crop Insurance

Apr 1 2011 // Farmers and insurance agents who sell them federal crop insurance policies may soon be required to certify that they are not participating any rebating or incentive schemes related to the purchase of those policies.The...

Zenith Offers Agribusiness Insurance

Mar 30 2011 // In what appears to be its first foray into offering liability coverages, Zenith Insurance Co., a workers’ compensation insurance specialist, will be offering agribusiness insurance in California. Through its...