By
Laurie Burstein
St. Louis has always been a center
for agriculture and with it a crop of bankers with funding,
lawyers with legal counsel, and communications firms with marketing
services that cater to the industry. Here’s what some of them
offer—for individual farmers to international companies—and
how they understand and support the ag industry in ways that
are different from other kinds of industries.
Powell Carman is a partner with the law firm of Bryan Cave and
leader of the firm’s agribusiness and ag biotech practice, focusing
on counseling agribusiness and biotech organizations on business
and legal matters. He counts among his past and current clients
Monsanto, Bunge and Ralston-Purina. Carman serves as legal counsel
to the American Soybean Association, Missouri Biotechnology
Association and World Agriculture Forum.
He also has firsthand knowledge of farming having grown up on
the family grain farm near Paris, Mo. “I still am actively involved
in my family farm and work there when I can, as my farming ‘therapy’,”
Carman jokes. On a more serious note he adds, “As a farmer and
a lawyer, I can see the farming business from both perspectives.
I also understand the changes farmers have had to face.”
His 20-plus year career includes serving as a trial lawyer in
several high profile cases involving breach of contract, unfair
competition and other commercial disputes. His signature case
was with Continental Grain.
Today he represents corporate clients in the areas of patents
and licensing, along with other intellectual property issues.
“My personal focus is on business issues for corporate clients
and all aspects of the regulation process. I help clients take
a product from invention to the consumer market, “Carman says.
He adds, “When our clients need FDA or USDA approval, we counsel
them through this process. In working with agribusiness clients,
we have to understand the marketing channels and regulatory
channels that are specific to the industry.”
In addition to legal counsel, the ag industry has always worked
with marketing communications firms to help them bring products
to market and improve sales.
Tim Leon, a principal with the marketing firm of Geile-Leon
Communications, has helped agriculture-related clients market
their companies since the early 1980s. “St. Louis has always
been a center for the ag industry,” Leon says. “I have worked
in the agrimarketing business for more than 25 years—it really
gets in your blood,” he adds.
Although now his firm handles more than ag-related clients,
he says there are certain challenges he must be aware of when
developing a marketing campaign for an ag client.
An example Leon points to is current client St. Louis-based
Novus International, an animal health and nutrition company.
Leon’s firm has developed a marketing campaign that includes
print advertising in trade publications, trade show booths,
online advertising and public relations.
Other agrimarketing services his firm provides include new product
launches, package design and in-store point-of-sale signage.
“In some ways, working with an ag-related company is like working
with any business-to-business client. You get a good sense of
who the customer is and how to market to them,” Leon says.
“At the same time, our challenge is to understand how the ag
industry is really a worldwide business today. Our client Novus
is in 80 countries and we must develop messages that can translate
around the world,” Leon explains.
Another St. Louis-based marketing communications firm that specializes
in agriculture clients is Osborn & Barr Communications. The
firm provides strategic planning, account management, digital
marketing, media, public relations and creative services.
Principal Steve Barr explains that his firm helps agri-businesses
in a number of ways. “Our public relations capabilities, brand
and channel communications experience, along with proven ability
to communicate with rural audiences, strongly aligns with our
clients’ marketing communication needs,” says Barr, CEO of Osborn
& Barr Communications.
Osborn & Barr Communications is one of the largest marketing
agencies with $120 million in annual billings, 140 employees
and offices in St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines and Canada.
Clients include the Environmental Protection Agency, Farm Credit
Services of Missouri, John Deere, Monsanto, National Pork Board,
The Solae Company and Solutia Inc.
When asked about the differences in marketing ag-related clients
from other types of clients, Joe Osborn, president of Osborn
& Barr Communications says, “While there is a greater emphasis
on channel marketing for ag clients, you have to know your target
audience and develop marketing communication materials to address
their needs as with any client.”
Osborn adds, “By specializing in a few core markets, we’re able
to bring more to our clients than just communication skills.
Our people bring knowledge that allows us to create branding
that’s more meaningful, more powerful in reaching the target
audience.”
The agency also sites some trends and issues specific to marketing
agribusiness clients including:
— Changing demographics—growth in
rural communities.
— Impact of government policies/ legislation—Farm Bill,
immigration.
—Renewable energy.
Along with legal counsel and marketing, funding is obviously
a major need for individual farmers and large agribusiness companies
alike. Two financial firms with a long history in the business
have regional offices in St. Louis—CoBank and RaboAgriFinance.
Kent Erhardt, vice president of Farm Credit Banks and CoBank,
has 25 years in the industry, 18 of them with CoBank. CoBank
has been a leading lender to some of America’s most successful
agriculture companies since it was founded in 1916.
Erhardt says, “We are rural America’s cooperative bank providing
financial services to cooperatives, agribusinesses, farm credit
associations, energy and water systems, rural communications,
and other businesses serving rural America. In addition, we
finance agricultural exports and deliver international banking
services.“
Headquartered in Denver with regional offices in St. Louis,
CoBank assets total $36 billion. The regional office in St Louis
offers a broad range of flexible loan programs and specially
tailored financial services for customers including short, intermediate,
and long term financing at variable and fixed interest rates.
Farm Credit Services, part of CoBank, provides direct lending
to farmers and ranchers. CoBank helps provide financial services
to service organizations, such as farm supply and grain elevators
that directly help the farmer.
As CEO for Rabo AgriFinance, Rick Henderson is a 30-year veteran
in agriculture lending. He lends money to farmers, ranchers
and growers both large and small. Rabo AgriFinance is part of
the RaboBank Group which has provided agriculture funding for
nearly 100 years. The company specializes in real estate loans
and operating loans and manages approximately $4.5 billion in
loans.
With 85 employees in the St. Louis office, Rabo AgriFinance
offers farmers a full range of lending products and crop insurance
throughout the United States. Loans can range from $200 thousand
to $130 million.
“One of the major changes in farming today is that a lot more
capital is required. Capital real estate prices have certainly
increased,” Henderson says.
He says the good news is that the industry is currently doing
well. “The ag economy is very healthy right now and has really
become a global industry.”
With a strong ag economy, the St. Louis region in is good hands
with legal counsel, marketing services, and funding to help
those in the agribusiness succeed.
