Cows at two Texas dairy farms have bird flu, another blow to Cattle Country following wildfires
Federal officials said the nation’s milk supply should be not at risk after a bird flu outbreak hits dairies in Texas, New Mexico and Kansas.
Wildfires ravage cattle country, threatening Texas’ agriculture economy
Texas wildfires have consumed acres of agricultural land, killing thousands of livestock, destroying crops and exacerbating challenges lingering from last year’s drought.
Texas passes on $450 million summer lunch program for low-income families
The USDA estimates the families of 3.8 million children could have received $120 per child to cover summer lunches if the state participated in the new $2.5 billion program launching this summer. Texas is one of 15 states opting out.
Texas agriculture commissioner orders employees to wear clothes “consistent with their biological gender”
The policy comes as LGBTQ advocates are fighting a wave of hostile legislation at the Capitol, including proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender children.
Farmers face a higher risk of suicide. The Texas Agriculture Department wants $500,000 a year to change that.
The department’s helpline is less than a year old. But advocates hope state lawmakers fully fund it as farmers and ranchers continue to face hard economic times and isolation.
Texas ag agency says climate change threatens state’s food supply
A new Texas Department of Agriculture report also points to other factors that are making it harder for Texans to access and afford food, including wages falling behind rising costs of living.
Sid Miller declares victory in Texas agriculture commissioner race
Securing a third term with strong support across rural Texas, the Republican pledged to expand medical use of cannabis and funding for rural health care.
Both have deep Texas roots, but Sid Miller and Susan Hays offer stark contrast in fight for ag commissioner
The state’s agriculture commissioner oversees a vast portfolio including farming and ranching, rural health care and the scales you use at grocery store checkout.
Texas Democratic Party leadership election roiled by accusation that a candidate shoved a staffer
Witnesses say Kim Olson pushed the party’s top staffer during a bus tour in 2018. Olson denies the allegation.
Sid Miller wins Republican primary for Texas agriculture commissioner
The incumbent avoided a runoff. State Rep. James White had tried to unseat Miller with criticisms centered on controversies under Miller’s leadership.
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s challengers take aim at his ethics, relationship to indicted political aide
Miller’s top challenger is state Rep. James White, a Hillister rancher, who is running a hard-charging campaign calling out the incumbent for creating a scandal-prone culture at the commission.
Black Texas farmers were finally on track to get federal aid. The state’s agriculture commissioner wants to stop that.
Sid Miller is challenging a debt relief program that the U.S. Department of Agriculture saw as a way to correct historic discrimination. An advocate for Black Texas farmers says the challenge “pushes us back even further.”
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s political consultant indicted on charges of theft, bribery in hemp license scheme
Attorneys for Smith said he has not broken any laws. Miller, who is seeking reelection and facing a competitive primary, said Tuesday evening he's "not ready to throw [Smith] under the bus" and believes the indictment was politically motivated.
Destruction of murder hornets nest doesn't end threat
When scientists destroyed the first nest of so-called murder hornets found in the U.S. recently, they discovered about 500 live specimens inside in various stages of development. The first murder hornets nest — found in a tree and destroyed in late October in Whatcom County along the Canadian border — was about the size of a basketball. It was located after state scientists trapped several hornets and attached radio trackers to some of them using dental floss. —76 queens, nearly all of them new virgin queens. Murder hornets also have been found in British Columbia, Canada.