American Notes Agriculture

If Richard Lyng knows anything better than the agricultural business, it is agricultural politics. A native Californian, Lyng, 67, started his career by taking over his father's bean-and-seed-processing business in 1949 and doubling profits during the next 18 years. He went on to hold top positions in the agriculture departments of California Governor Ronald Reagan and President Richard Nixon. After a six-year stint as head of the American Meat Institute, he returned to the USDA as Deputy Secretary during Reagan's first term as President. In Washington he has earned a reputation as a smooth operator who can handle lobbyists, bureaucrats and even Congressmen, with a cool head. Thus it was no surprise last week when the President nominated Lyng to succeed John Block as Secretary of Agriculture. As farmers struggle with depressed prices and exorbitant interest rates, the new Secretary will have his work cut out for him. While Lyng has a more low-key management style than his outgoing predecessor, he has said that he and Block share the same philosophy about the Government's role in agriculture: both believe it should be smaller.