Agribusiness contributions to House and Senate Ag Committee members released

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16Maplight, a research organization focused on how money influences politics, released its analysis of contributions connected to the Agribusiness sector to members of the House and Senate agriculture committees.

The following list includes Maplight’s information on the contributions by Agriculture Interest to the Members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees of the 112th Congress. The figures below only include contributions coded as belonging to the Agribusinesssector by the Center for Responsive Politics. They do not necessarily represent all contributions from the organization (and its employees) to members of the House and Senate Agriculture committees.

Business

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

Crop production & basic processing

$3,841,515

Milk & dairy producers

$2,885,370

Sugar cane & sugar beets

$2,602,764

Agricultural services & related industries

$1,992,829

Livestock

$1,937,774

Agricultural chemicals (fertilizers & pesticides)

$1,464,683

Tobacco & Tobacco products

$1,386,264

Forestry & Forest Products

$1,289,472

Poultry & eggs

$1,208,714

Other commodities (incl rice, peanuts, honey)

$1,207,043

Vegetables, fruits and tree nut

$948,485

Farm organizations & cooperatives

$877,646

Animal feed & health products

$862,504

Cotton

$762,718

Farm machinery & equipment

$734,600

Wheat, corn, soybeans and cash grain

$656,066

Veterinarians

$554,450

Grain traders & terminals

$366,450

Paper & pulp mills and paper manufacturing

$356,716

Florists & Nursery Services

$232,350

Feedlots & related livestock services

$198,300

Horse breeders

$165,575

Agriculture

$106,680

Sheep and Wool Producers

$52,500

Total

$26,691,468 

Top Contributors in Specific Crop/Product Groups

Dairy

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

Dairy Farmers of America

$550,100

Land O'Lakes

$380,980

Dean Foods

$377,400

International Dairy Foods Association

$296,053

California Dairies Inc

$294,400

Sugar

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

American Crystal Sugar

$984,998

Southern Minn Beet Sugar Co-Op

$329,957

American Sugar Cane League

$223,469

Minn-Dak Farmers Co-Op

$185,560

Florida Crystals

$170,250

Livestock

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

National Pork Producers Council

$276,214

National Cattlemen's Beef Association

$275,238

Livestock Marketing Association

$95,000

Texas Cattle Feeders Association

$94,000

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers

$65,500

Poultry/Eggs

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

United Egg Association

$414,500

National Chicken Council

$235,565

National Turkey Federation

$170,034

Tyson Foods

$117,150

Pilgrim's Pride Corp

$55,650

Rice

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

USA Rice Federation

$198,381

Farmers' Rice Cooperative

$138,042

Riceland Foods

$75,990

California Rice Industry Association Fund

$66,220

Producers Rice Mill Inc

$49,000

Cotton

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

National Cotton Council

$332,718

American Cotton Shippers Association

$80,000

Southern Cotton Growers Inc

$60,000

Plains Cotton Growers

$40,750

Calcot Ltd

$36,000

Corn

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

National Corn Growers Association

$66,666

Iowa Corn Growers Association

$23,325

Corn Producers Association of Texas

$11,700

Minnesota Corn Growers Association

$11,050

Corn Refiners Association

$3,750

Soybeans

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

AG Processing

$163,000

American Soybean Association

$87,000

Owensboro Grain

$5,000

Missouri Soybean Association

$4,000

North Carolina Soybean Producers Association

$500

Wheat

Total Contributions to Ag Cmte Members

National Association of Wheat Growers

$103,950

Texas Wheat Producers Association

$13,300

Midwest Grain Products

$4,600

Miller Milling Co

$1,000

Colorado Association of Wheat Growers

$500

METHODOLOGY: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions to the current members (as of Nov. 14, 2011) of the House and Senate Agriculture committees from the Agribusiness sector from Jan. 1, 2001-June 30, 2011. Campaign finance data and industry classifications provided by the Center for Responsive Politics.

A link to this data release and a spreadsheet of the data broken down by legislator can be found here. To view Maplight’s analysis of campaign contributions connected to the Agribusiness sector to members of the Super Committee click here.

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