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Compromise and perseverance key to farm bill finish

Mary Kay Thatcher, Sam Willett help enhance crop insurance for their groups; forging deal with conservation advocates Thatcher Willett As a lobbyist for the American Farm Bureau Federation for 27 years, Mary Kay Thatcher knows well the art and importance of compromise. The organization represents a wide variety of agricultural producers, with often competing interests. "It's a one for all, all for one kind of thing," Thatcher said—and that was critical to getting a new five-year farm bill across the finish line. The extended fight over the legislation involved a clash of many interests—rural, urban, agricultural, social, political—all struggling with a smaller pie.… Read More