Food Deserts, Craft Beverages, and Family Farms are top of mind for Agribusiness insurance pros

The Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Agribusiness team was delighted to sponsor IRMI's AgriCon in Des Moines this week. While every breakout session and networking opportunity at AgriCon provided attendees with expert insight into the trends impacting our industry, the keynote by Chris Leliaert of Highland Insurance Solutions/Tokio Marine truly set the tone for the conference. Here are my top three takeaways from his session:

1. Agriculture has the power to change food deserts into lush fruit and vegetable gardens. Chris highlighted data he's studied which indicates demand for quality produce and food products is higher than ever before; and yet, in some of the most populous cities in America, like Chicago and Detroit, "food deserts" persist. A food desert is defined as an area--typically low-income--that lacks access to nutritious and affordable fresh food. The persistence of food deserts is disheartening, especially in a country with as much food waste as we generate in the U.S. Fortunately, there are initiatives underway to resolve this. Robin Souza of Freberg Environmental brought up several programs in California that take produce considered too blemished or cosmetically unsuitable for grocers (think bruised apples) to homeless shelters and food banks. Another audience member highlighted the process of "gleaning," by which farmers go back over their fields after commercial harvest and salvage what's left, and many donate or supply the "passed over" producer to people in need. Chris also drew our attention to a wonderful program here in Chicago, "Growing Solutions Farms/Urban Autism Solutions" which employees adults with Autism to work a 1.2-acre farm in the Medical District. They were expected to produce 10,000 pounds of food this summer, supplying to local food banks and farmers markets, as well as restaurants. This innovative approach solves not one but two problems: adults with Autism have a 90% unemployment rate. It is encouraging to see this important civic responsibility as more people pitch in to ensure that those who are hungry have fresh food to eat.

2. The "Local Beverage Movement" is local everywhere. Wine in Missouri. Hops in Iowa. Distilleries in Utah. Nearly every broker or agent I met at AFIS (and everyone I talk to on a regular basis) had a beverage producer in their farm book, trying something old in a new place. The demand for local food and drink, coupled with the impact of climate, is creating new opportunity for farmers with crops or grains that can be turned into alcohol. One of the neat things about the spread of wineries and hops is the variance that we wine nerds call "terroir" imparts on the end product. You can start to see microbrews take on distinctive characteristics based on where they are made. We've received numerous requests to file AGCS's popular Pacific Northwest-based hops insurance product in the Midwest and Northeast in recent months as hops growers push eastward. Farmers are always finding new "outputs" for their products to support their bottom lines and, to the point I made above, reduce waste. One of my favorite current manifestations of that trend is the craft cider movement. Apples are the quintessential American product, and cider is unsurprisingly booming wherever they are grown: Vermont, Michigan, Washington (and we're seeing more pear, berry, and other fruit ciders as well). In fact in Chicago last year, a first-of-its-kind Cider Bar opened in the city's food-savvy Lincoln Square neighborhood. They boast dozens of drafts and hundreds of bottles of domestic and global ciders. I've seen beer evangelists and oenophiles pour over the cider list in the Northman with the same enthusiasm they do for their usual beer or wine list.

3. Farms are still a family affair... and ever-evolving. A widely perpetuated myth is that corporate farming is dominating the American food chain. In fact, Chris cited data showing that 97% of American farms are still family owned and operated. As economies ebb and flow, these farmers make ends meet by pursuing adjacencies that we carriers call "Agritainment." Think of your local farm's Halloween activities, or your area winery renting out space for weddings and events. This is a subset of our industry that is front of mind for all carriers, and a way of life for the farmowners. It's important to be adequately insured for these kinds of exposures; a traditional farm package may not respond to a claim for an accident at a charity event on a winery property or sales of products not listed on an application in the off-season. Nowadays it is more important than ever for farmers to work with a trusted insurance agent or broker with actual farm and agribusiness experience--and even more important to find a specialty farm carrier equipped to discuss these emerging coverage types. Allianz offers an array of endorsements and coverages for certain Agritainment exposures and we are keeping our eye on the future in this space.

There has never been a more exciting time to be a part of the Agribusiness insurance space, and IRMI facilitated a wonderful event for our industry's top experts to exchange knowledge and stay abreast of issues that are at the heart of our farmers' operations.