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The Senate Committee on Agriculture met on February 13, 2019 to hear invited testimony on the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, Animal Health Commission, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the State Soil and Water Conservation Board.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

  • Hall – Ag is the second largest industry in the state. Future of agriculture in Texas is promising.

 

Texas Department of Agriculture

Sid Miller, Commissioner, Texas Department of Agriculture

  • Compared Texas agriculture to California and Florida.
  • 91% of $6b budget is federal money.
  • Get GR for biosecurity and livestock export facilities.
  • Have become a leading agency in HUB contracts and hiring veterans.
  • Over half of schools participating in farm fresh program.
  • Requesting financial help in rural healthcare in order to draw down more federal funds.
  • Lost 5 of 6 budget tools, requesting those tools back.
  • Hall – Talk a little more about credit card skimmers
    • Miller – We have inspectors at the pumps, station owners must have those pumps calibrated by an inspector each year.
    • Hall – Is there anything the legislature can do to provide the tools to fight this issue?
    • Miller – We would like to have statutory authority to open the pumps, right now most station owners will comply, but it would be better with statutory authority.
  • Hall – Hemp production?
    • Miller – I support hemp production, it would be useful in crop rotation. We are one of 11 states who outlaws the production of hemp. I caution farmers not to plant hemp unless they have a contracted market for it.
  • Rodriguez – Has the department done any analysis about the impact of hemp legalization?
    • Miller – We have not done any studies, TTU or TAMU might have studies.
  • Perry – There is a hemp bill being drafted.

 

Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners

John Hellenberg, Executive Director, Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners

  • Sunset review last session identified issues with administrative procedures, enforcement procedures, and prescription monitoring program.
  • Cost recovery agency
  • Hall – Strategic planning meetings?
    • Hellenberg – Working to change education campaigns. Made rules clearer.
    • Hall – Talk about prescription monitoring program
    • Hellenberg – Vets are required to register an account. It is voluntary for vets to report into PMP.

 

Animal Health Commission

Andy Schwartz, State Veterinarian and Exec Dir. Of Animal Health Commission

  • Overall budget $30.4m, 12% in federal funds
  • Have been successful in fever tick program in certain areas
  • Schwertner – Question about spray box issue
    • Schwartz – We are in discussions with Miller and TDA on how to continue that use.
    • Schwertner – Any areas of quarantine?
    • Schwartz – Yes, there are approx. 2600 individual properties under quarantine.
    • Schwertner – Do you have enough resources to operate spray boxes?
    • Schwartz – Yes with the funding and FTEs added last session we have enough.
  • Ongoing challenges with fever ticks crossing from Mexico
  • Ranchland used for hunting and wildlife hinders eradication efforts
  • Bovine tuberculosis, 3 dairy facilities in panhandle under quarantine
  • Chronic wasting disease
    • Administer voluntary herd certification program
    • Assist Texas Parks and Wildlife with disease investigations
    • Outbreak areas in Trans-Pecos, panhandle, and Medina County
  • Involved in emergency management
  • Prepared for possible outbreaks of Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever
  • Hall – You have a huge responsibility, is there anything else you need other than what you asked for do adequately perform your job?
    • Schwartz – I did not mention an exceptional item regarding a state-owned database. We would also like to be able to properly compensate our livestock inspectors to reduce turnover.
    • Hall – Why is the federal database you are currently using inadequate?
      Schwartz – We are not able to extract data as we need it and are not able to change it ourselves.

Texas Parks and Wildlife

Carter Smith, Exec. Dir. Texas Parks and Wildlife

  • Gave overview of various TPW programs
  • Wildlife disease management a challenging but necessary function of TPW
    • Chronic wasting and fever tick programs are important
  • Working on study to control feral hogs
  • Hall – Expand on issue with feral hogs?
    • Smith – We have invested in sodium nitrite research for around 10 years. Sodium nitrite kills hogs without prolific bleeding or audible noises. We have been working on bait and delivery system that would not affect non-target species. It will not be a silver bullet but can help with management of hog problems.
    • Hall – Any work being done on plan B or plan C?
    • Smith – We are not involved but there are other efforts across the South.
  • Hall – Summary of chronic wasting disease program?
    • Smith – First appeared in Waco mountains, we believe form free range mule deer that came from New Mexico. There are now 3 localized areas with the disease.
      • One in the Waco Mountains, Franklin Mountains, and Cornudas Mountains.
      • There is a node of known CWD in Dallam and Hartley Counties northwest of Dalhart.
      • There is an area in northern Medina County primarily in deer breeding facilities.
    • Smith – We are working with the Animal Health Commission on developing and implementation of testing protocols.
    • Smith – Texas is the first state to implement live animal testing.
    • Smith – Testing free range and captive deer to understand where the disease is and keep it localized in the three localized areas.
    • Hall – Do you see any need to do anything different than what you are doing?
    • Smith – Hosted a scientific symposium with leading researchers on CWD. Message reinforced what we are doing now. Active surveillance, doing all we can do detect it, testing areas where it exists. Prevent deer densities from growing or deer moving in and out of areas with the disease.
  • Schwertner – Question about Fairfield Lake Park, obligations of Parks and Wildlife regarding the shutting down of that park.
    • Smith – Vistra Energy have notified TPW about their right to terminate the lease and have made their intention clear that they will sell that property.

 

State Soil and Water Conservation Board

Rex Isom, Exec. Dir. Soil and Water

  • Gave overview of the SSWCB’s history and functions.

Liza Parker, Policy Analyst SSWCB

  • Overview of Board’s programs and funding
  • Flood control program, have built over 2000 dams for flood control over last 30 years
    • 611 dams classified as high hazard, 488 of those need rehabilitations.
  • Hall – Talk about watershed protection plan
    • Parker – Goal is to facilitate restoration of impaired water bodies and protect threatened water bodies before they become impaired.
  • Schwertner – Question about flood control plan, what is the cost, does the state really need $600m or is it $67m?
    • Isom – Upgrading structures to meet high hazard is mostly because when the dams were built they were low hazard, but when developments are built below them they become reclassified as high hazard.
    • Schwertner – How many have failed in the last 5 years?
      Steven Bedenars, Engineer SSWCB – To my knowledge there have been no complete catastrophic failures of dams built by USDA-NRCS.
    • Schwertner – What percentage were reclassified because of population developments below the dam?
    • BEdenars – 100%.
    • Schwertner – Do you do inspections on the structural integrity of the dams?
    • Bedenars – TCEQ inspects each dam every 5 years.
    • Schwertner – Maintenance was originally supposed to be done by local sponsor, and the money the state is kicking in here would supplant the local sponsor’s obligations?
    • Bedenars – The state funding would help support the local sponsors.
    • Isom – There are many cases where the local sponsor cannot meet the match.

 

Texas A&M Forest Service

Tom Boggus, Exec. Dir. Texas A&M Forest Service

  • Gave overview of agency functions, importance of commercial forests to economy
  • Discussed agency response to Harvey
  • Hall – Talk more about the wildfire issue, why does Texas have a better handle than other states or what do we need?
    • Boggus – Texas does emergency response better than anywhere else. In 1996 we developed the Wildfire Protection Plan and that has been successful.