American Financial Group, Inc. is an American financial services holding company based in Cincinnati, Ohio . Its primary businesses are insurance and investments .
52-544: American Financial Group's major insurance division operates as the Great American Insurance Company , founded in 1872, and focuses on property and casualty insurance services. Other affiliates and subsidiaries include Great American Custom, Mid-Continent Group, National Interstate, and Republic Indemnity. Insurance specialties also include equine, trucking, executive liability, fidelity and crime, and agribusiness . Great American Financial Resources
104-446: A boom in using nitrogen fertilizers. In the latter half of the 20th century, increased use of nitrogen fertilizers (800% increase between 1961 and 2019) has been a crucial component of the increased productivity of conventional food systems (more than 30% per capita) as part of the so-called " Green Revolution ". A farm (also called an agricultural holding ) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with
156-578: A certain level of operations, capitalization , land area, or number of animals in the farm. The word "agribusiness" is a portmanteau of the words agriculture and business. The earliest known use of the word was in the Volume 155 of the Canadian Almanac & Directory published in 1847. Although most practitioners recognize that it was coined in 1957 by two Harvard Business School professors, John Davis and Ray Goldberg after they published
208-540: A minor role in the neoclassical economics dominant in the 20th century. Income derived from ownership or control of natural resources is referred to as rent . Because no man created the land, it does not have a definite original proprietor, owner or user. No man made the land. It is the original inheritance of the whole species. Consequently, conflicting claims on geographic locations and mineral deposits have historically led to disputes over their economic rent and contributed to many civil wars and revolutions. In
260-417: A rigorous economic framework for the field. They traced a complex value-added chain that begins with the farmer's purchase of seed and livestock and ends with a product fit for the consumer's table. Agribusiness boundary expansion is driven by a variety of transaction costs . As concern over global warming intensifies, biofuels derived from crops are gaining increased public and scientific attention. This
312-420: A variety of ways: through dry or pelletized or liquid application processes, using large agricultural equipment, or hand-tool methods. Historically, fertilization came from natural or organic sources: compost , animal manure , human manure , harvested minerals, crop rotations , and byproducts of human-nature industries (e.g. fish processing waste , or bloodmeal from animal slaughter ). However, starting in
364-491: Is a declining population of American citizens working on farms — temporary or itinerant skilled labor from outside the country is recruited for labor-intensive crops like vegetables and fruits. Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops , landscape plants , and lawns . Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been developed by many cultures around
416-472: Is a multibillion-dollar global business, which uses growing facilities and growing locations worldwide. While most of the seed is produced by large specialist growers, large amounts are also produced by small growers who produce only one to a few crop types. The larger companies supply seed both to commercial resellers and wholesalers. The resellers and wholesalers sell to vegetable and fruit growers, and to companies who package seed into packets and sell them on to
468-756: Is a professional in the science , practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the United States, and the European Union. Other names used to designate the profession include agricultural scientist, agricultural manager, agricultural planner, agriculture researcher, or agriculture policy maker. The primary role of agriculturists are in leading agricultural projects and programs, usually in agri business planning or research for
520-488: Is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Financial Group and supplies a range of annuities, life insurance products and supplemental insurances to individuals and enterprises. The parent company, AFG, is owned principally by the family of financier Carl Lindner, Jr. , who bought the company in 1973 and served as its chairman until his death in 2011. The senior Lindner's sons, Carl H. Lindner III and S. Craig Lindner serve as co-chief executive officer. American Financial Group
572-455: Is an agriculturally -oriented shop where one sells agricultural supplies — inputs required for agricultural production such as pesticides , feed and fertilizers . Sometimes these stores are organized as cooperatives , where store customers aggregate their resources to purchase agricultural inputs. Agricultural supply and the stores that provide it are part of the larger Agribusiness industry. A farmworker , farmhand or agricultural worker
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#1732779498423624-464: Is common in many parts of the world as rainfed agriculture , or it can be full irrigation, where crops rarely rely on any contribution from rainfall. Full irrigation is less common and only occurs in arid landscapes with very low rainfall or when crops are grown in semi-arid areas outside of rainy seasons. Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers , fruits and vegetables to commercial growers and amateur gardeners . The production of seed
676-625: Is driven by factors such as oil price spikes , the need for increased energy security , concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels , and support from government subsidies . In Europe and in the US, increased research and production of biofuels have been mandated by law. Land (economics) In economics , land comprises all naturally occurring resources as well as geographic land . Examples include particular geographical locations , mineral deposits , forests, fish stocks, atmospheric quality, geostationary orbits , and portions of
728-482: Is governed by a biennial conference representing each member country and the European Union , which elects a 49-member executive council. The director-general, as of 2019 Qu Dongyu of China, serves as the chief administrative officer. Various committees govern matters such as finance, programs, agriculture, and fisheries. An agriculturist , agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.)
780-413: Is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harvesting, but not to a worker in other on- farm jobs, such as picking fruit. Agricultural work varies widely depending on context, degree of mechanization and crop. In countries like the United States where there
832-459: Is to maximize profit while satisfying the needs of consumers for products related to natural resources such as biotechnology , farms , food , forestry , fisheries , fuel , and fiber . Studies of business growth and performance in farming have found successful agricultural businesses are cost-efficient internally and operate in favorable economic, political, and physical-organic environments. They are able to expand and make profits, improve
884-551: The AP stylebook , also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary ) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or outdoors and typically consist of booths, tables or stands where farmers sell their produce, live animals and plants , and sometimes prepared foods and beverages. Farmers' markets exist in many countries worldwide and reflect
936-751: The Cincinnati Reds baseball team to purchase naming rights for Great American Ball Park . On December 6, 2006, American Financial sold assets acquired from successors to the dissolution of the Penn Central Railroad including the land under Grand Central Terminal and the 156 miles (251 km) of Metro North track leading to the New York City landmark to Argent Ventures . The company announced in December 2007 that they will combine their offices and move their headquarters to
988-518: The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Austrade , and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE). The Federation of International Trade Associations publishes studies and reports by FAS and AAFC, as well as other non-governmental organizations on its website. In their book A Concept of Agribusiness , Ray Goldberg and John Davis provided
1040-876: The U.S. is held at the National Agricultural Library where the earliest catalogs date from the late 18th century, with most published from the 1890s to the present. A fertilizer ( American English ) or fertiliser ( British English ) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients . Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments . Many sources of fertilizer exist, both natural and industrially produced. For most modern agricultural practices, fertilization focuses on three main macro nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) with occasional addition of supplements like rock flour for micronutrients. Farmers apply these fertilizers in
1092-420: The electromagnetic spectrum . Supply of these resources is fixed. Land is considered one of the three factors of production (also sometimes called the three producer goods) along with capital , and labor . Natural resources are fundamental to the production of all goods , including capital goods . While the particular role of land in the economy was extensively debated in classical economics it played
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#17327794984231144-452: The rent of land for public purposes would not affect the opportunity cost of using land, but would instead only decrease the value of owning it. This view is supported by evidence that although land can come on and off the market, market inventories of land show, if anything, an inverse relationship to price (i.e., negative elasticity). Land plays a vital role in advanced economies. In the UK,
1196-450: The "non-produced asset of land" accounts for 51% of the country's total net worth, implying that it plays a more critical role in the economy than capital. Some United Kingdom and commonwealth universities offer courses in land economy , where economics is studied alongside law, business regulation, surveying, and the built and natural environments. This mode of study at Cambridge dates back to 1917 when William Cecil Dampier suggested
1248-537: The 19th century, after innovations in plant nutrition , an agricultural industry developed around synthetically created agrochemical fertilizers . This transition was important in transforming the global food system , allowing for larger-scale industrial agriculture with large crop yields. Nitrogen-fixing chemical processes, such as the Haber process invented at the beginning of the 20th century, and amplified by production capacity created during World War II, led to
1300-531: The 2010 mid-term elections. American Financial, of which Lindner has a non-majority 42% share, donated $ 400,000 to the Republican-allied PAC American Crossroads . Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry , enterprises , and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy , in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise . The primary goal of agribusiness
1352-445: The amateur gardener. Most seed companies or resellers that sell to retail produce a catalog, for seed to be sown the following spring, that is generally published during early winter. These catalogs are eagerly awaited by the amateur gardener, as during winter months there is little that can be done in the garden so this time can be spent planning the following year’s gardening. The largest collection of nursery and seed trade catalogs in
1404-543: The benefit of farms , food, and agribusiness-related organizations. Agriculturists usually are designated in the government as public agriculturists serving as agriculture policymakers or technical advisors for policy making. Agriculturists can also provide technical advice for farmers and farm workers such as in making crop calendars and workflows to optimize farm production, tracing agricultural market channels, prescribing fertilizers and pesticides to avoid misuse , and in aligning for organic accreditation or
1456-529: The book " A Concept of Agribusiness ." "Agribusiness is the sum total of all operations involved in the manufacture and distribution of farm supplies; production operations on the farm; and the storage, processing, and distribution of farm commodities and items made from them." (Davis and Goldberg, 1956) Their book argued against the New Deal programs of then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt as it led to
1508-485: The book " Agribusiness Management Resource Materials " (1971) which would be the foundation of current agribusiness programs around the world. In 1973, Drilon and Goldberg further expanded the concept of agribusiness to include support organizations such as governments , research institutions , schools, financial institutions, and cooperatives within the integrated Agribusiness System. Mark R. Edwards and Clifford J. Shultz II (2005) of Loyola University Chicago reframed
1560-615: The brand new Great American Insurance Building at Queen City Square in 2011. American Financial Group was one of the first publicly traded Fortune 500 companies to make political donations after corporations' freedom of speech rights were expanded to include donations as a result of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. Carl Lindner, Jr is a longtime top Republican donor, donating millions of his personal income to candidates and political action committees, which sent ripples in campaign finance circles during
1612-593: The concept of social entrepreneurship . The term value chain was first popularized in a book published in 1985 by Michael Porter , who used it to illustrate how companies could achieve what he called “competitive advantage” by adding value within their organization. Subsequently, the term was adopted for agricultural development purposes and has now become very much in vogue among those working in this field, with an increasing number of bilateral and multilateral aid organisations using it to guide their development interventions. An agricultural supply store or agrocenter
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1664-403: The context of geographic locations the resulting conflict is regularly understood as the land question (see e.g. United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada ). Land reform programs are designed to redistribute possession and/or use of geographic land. Georgists hold that this implies a perfectly inelastic supply curve (i.e., zero elasticity), suggesting that a land value tax that recovers
1716-528: The definition of agribusiness to emphasize its lack of focus on farm production but towards market centricity and innovative approach to serve consumers worldwide. "Agribusiness is a dynamic and systemic endeavor that serves consumers globally and locally through innovation and management of multiple value chains that deliver valued goods and services derived from sustainable orchestration of food, fiber and natural resources." (Edwards and Shultz, 2005) In 2012, Thomas L. Sporleder and Michael A. Boland defined
1768-763: The efficiency of farms and agribusiness enterprises as well as to ensure sustainability of natural and renewable resources. Primary food processing turns agricultural products, such as raw wheat kernels or livestock, into something that can eventually be eaten. This category includes ingredients that are produced by ancient processes such as drying , threshing , winnowing and milling grain, shelling nuts , and butchering animals for meat. It also includes deboning and cutting meat, freezing and smoking fish and meat, extracting and filtering oils, canning food, preserving food through food irradiation , and candling eggs , as well as homogenizing and pasteurizing milk . A farmers' market (or farmers market according to
1820-755: The establishment of the first undergraduate program in agribusiness in 1966 at the UP College of Agriculture in Los Baños, Philippines as Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Agribusiness. The program was initially a joint undertaking with the UP College of Business Administration in Diliman, Quezon City until 1975. Jose D. Drilon of the University of the Philippines then published
1872-401: The farmhouse and agricultural buildings as well as the land. In modern times, the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms , both of which can operate on land or at sea. There are about 570 million farms in the world, most of which are small and family-operated. Small farms with a land area of fewer than 2 hectares operate on about 12% of
1924-488: The field and distributed by overhead high-pressure water devices. Micro-irrigation is a system that distributes water under low pressure through a piped network and applies it as a small discharge to each plant. Micro-irrigation uses less pressure and water flow than sprinkler irrigation. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the root zone of plants. Subirrigation has been used in field crops in areas with high water tables for many years. It involves artificially raising
1976-408: The increase in agricultural prices. Davis and Goldberg favored corporate-driven agriculture or large-scale farming to revolutionize the agriculture sector, lessening the dependency on state power and politics. They explained in the book that vertically integrated firms within the agricultural value chains have the ability to control prices and where they are distributed. Goldberg then assisted in
2028-749: The largest dairy company in the US, Amul , the largest food product marketing organization in India and Zen-Noah , a federation of agricultural cooperatives that handles 70% of the sales of chemical fertilizers in Japan. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security . Its Latin motto, fiat panis , translates to "let there be bread". It
2080-658: The local culture and economy. The size of the market may be just a few stalls or it may be as large as several city blocks. Due to their nature, they tend to be less rigidly regulated than retail produce shops. Agricultural extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education . The field of 'extension' now encompasses a wider range of communication and learning activities organized for rural people by educators from different disciplines, including agriculture , agricultural marketing , health , and business studies . Extension practitioners can be found throughout
2132-531: The national agricultural quality standards . Studies of agribusiness often come from the academic fields of agricultural economics and management studies , sometimes called agribusiness management. To promote more development of food economies, many government agencies support the research and publication of economic studies and reports exploring agribusiness and agribusiness practices. Some of these studies are on foods produced for export and are derived from agencies focused on food exports. These agencies include
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2184-427: The primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used for specialized units such as arable farms , vegetable farms, fruit farms, dairy, pig and poultry farms, and land used for the production of natural fiber , biofuel , and other commodities . It includes ranches, feedlots , orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings, and hobby farms, and includes
2236-571: The productivity of land , labor , and capital , and keep their costs down to ensure market price competitiveness. Agribusiness is not limited to farming. It encompasses a broader spectrum through the agribusiness system which includes input supplies, value-addition , marketing , entrepreneurship , microfinancing , and agricultural extension . In some countries like the Philippines , creation and management of agribusiness enterprises require consultation with registered agriculturists above
2288-421: The removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given location, is often studied in conjunction with irrigation. There are several methods of irrigation that differ in how water is supplied to plants. Surface irrigation , also known as gravity irrigation, is the oldest form of irrigation and has been in use for thousands of years. In sprinkler irrigation , water is piped to one or more central locations within
2340-469: The responsibility of agribusiness to be environmentally and socially conscious towards sustainability . "Agribusiness is the interrelated and interdependent industries in agriculture that supply, process, distribute, and support the products of agriculture." (Goldberg, 2017) Some agribusinesses have adopted the triple bottom line framework such as aligning for fair trade , organic , good agricultural practices , and B-corporation certifications towards
2392-443: The unique economic characteristics of agribusiness supply chains from industrial manufacturing and service supply chains. They have identified seven main characteristics: In 2017, noting the rise of genetic engineering and biotechnology in agriculture, Goldberg further expanded the definition of agribusiness which covers all the interdependent aspects of the food system including medicine, nutrition, and health. He also emphasized
2444-404: The water table to moisten the soil below the root zone of plants. Irrigation water can come from groundwater (extracted from springs or by using wells ), from surface water (withdrawn from rivers , lakes or reservoirs ) or from non-conventional sources like treated wastewater , desalinated water , drainage water , or fog collection . Irrigation can be supplementary to rainfall , which
2496-459: The world's agricultural land, and family farms comprise about 75% of the world's agricultural land. Agricultural engineering , also known as agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the field of study and application of engineering science and designs principles for agriculture purposes, combining the various disciplines of mechanical , civil , electrical , food science , environmental , software , and chemical engineering to improve
2548-697: The world, usually working for government agencies. They are represented by several professional organizations, networks and extension journals. An agricultural cooperative , also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperatives, which provide various services to their individually-farming members, and agricultural production cooperatives in which production resources (land, machinery) are pooled and members farm jointly. Notable examples of agricultural cooperatives include Dairy Farmers Of America ,
2600-449: The world. Irrigation helps to grow crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during times of below-average rainfall. In addition to these uses, irrigation is also employed to protect crops from frost , suppress weed growth in grain fields, and prevent soil consolidation . It is also used to cool livestock , reduce dust , dispose of sewage , and support mining operations. Drainage , which involves
2652-652: Was founded on 16 October 1945. The FAO comprises 195 members, including 194 countries and the European Union . Its headquarters is in Rome , Italy, and it maintains regional and field offices worldwide, operating in over 130 countries. It helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry , fisheries , and land and water resources . It also conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects agricultural output, production, and development data. The FAO
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#17327794984232704-1007: Was ranked 486th on the Fortune 500 list in 2004. Through the years American Financial Group has owned a number of subsidiaries, real estate properties, and companies, including The Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in Whitefield , New Hampshire , The Cincinnatian in Cincinnati , Ohio , The Biltmore in Coral Gables , Florida , Le Pavillon in New Orleans , Louisiana , and the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina in Charleston , South Carolina . Great American Insurance Group partnered with
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