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Lobby League '25 Agriculture |
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By The Hill Staff
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Posted: 12/08/04 12:00 AM [ET] |
| Each week, The Hill highlights the top lobbyists on a sector-specific basis through conversations with the major players on K Street, congressional staffers and other Washington insiders. |
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Lesher & Russell: William Lesher, Randy Russell
Lesher and Russell have helped developed agricultural policies in this country since the late 1970s, when Lesher worked as an LA to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Russell worked for former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R-Minn.). Lesher eventually became the chief economist on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and then the assistant secretary for economics at USDA from 1981 to 1985. Russell was chief of staff to USDA Secretary John Block from 1985 to 1986 before joining Lesher’s firm in 1986. Lesher & Russell, which represents such powerhouse American companies as Monsanto and Altria, are “the ag lobbyists firm in town,” said one Republican staffer.
National Farmers Union: Tom Buis
A former senior ag adviser to outgoing Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Buis has since 1998 lobbied for NFU, a group that represents about a quarter of a million family farmers and ranchers. Buis knows of what he speaks: he was a full-time grain and livestock farmer in west-central Indiana, where his two brothers still farm.
National Cotton Council of America: John Maguire
The council declares 25,000 members: cotton farmers, ginners, warehousemen, merchants, seed processors, co-ops and textile manufacturers. McGuire is a “longtime veteran and an influential player,” according to one source.
Gordley & Associates: John Gordley, Beverly Paul
Gordley, a former staffer to Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and agriculture advisor to President Reagan, has “been around a long time” and knows the ins and outs of ag policy on the Hill, said one source. Paul worked as an LA to Sens. Ben Nelson and Bob Kerrey, both Democrats from Nebraska. She handles crop insurance, nutrition, transportation and appropriations issues for the firm.
McLeod, Watkinson & Miller: Mike McLeod, Laura Phelps
Over the last five years, this firm has represented everything from egg producers to peanut farmers to avocado growers to crop insurers, earning a reputation for straightforward advocacy in the process. McLeod is a former LA to Sen. Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.) and counsel to the Senate Ag Committee. Phelps worked for ex-Rep. Robin Tallon (D-S.C.).
American Farm Bureau Federation: Mary Kay Thatcher
The Farm Bureau’s lobbying report runs 30-plus pages, an indication how extensive the Farm Bureau’s legislative reach is. The group spent more than $2.5 million on lobbying for the first six months of the year. Thatcher heads up lobbying on ag policy, taxes and livestock issues.
Cornerstone Government Affairs: Tim Sanders
A former clerk and staff director to the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Sanders, “does a lot from the money angle for ag interests,” said one Republican staffer. He currently represents General Mills, the Florida Sugar Cane League and Syngenta.
Cargill: Mike Mullins
Privately held Cargill is a behemoth in ag circles. The company’s revenues nearly reached $63 billion in 2004. That left plenty of money to lobby. The company spent $240,000 in the first part of 2004 to lobby on such things as the Clean Air Act, the energy bill and corporate tax modifications.
Hogan & Hartson: Humberto Pena
A former chief of staff to the House Committee on Agriculture, Pena now represents such clients as Fonterra Cooperative Group, New Zealand’s largest company and one of the top 10 dairy producers in the world, and the American Peanut Shellers. |
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