Texas agriculture leaders warned state lawmakers Tuesday that the industry is facing mounting pressure from pests, water shortages, rising costs and competition for land and labor as the Texas House Committee on Agriculture and Livestock reviewed several interim charges.
The New World screwworm dominated much of the hearing, but lawmakers also heard testimony on the financial health of Texas agriculture, water infrastructure, the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, other livestock pests and the growing footprint of data centers and urban development.
The committee took up interim charges six, four and one. Charge six focuses on agency oversight, while charge four examines the resiliency of the state’s agriculture industry. Charge one directs lawmakers to monitor implementation of House Bill 43, which expanded farm grant eligibility through the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority as part of a broader investment and relief package.
Screwworm remains a long-term threat
Louis Dinges, executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission, told lawmakers that 45 New World screwworm cases have been identified across 16 Texas counties since June 3. None have been detected in wildlife.
The parasite, which originated in South America, can infest wounds in livestock and other warm-blooded animals, with potentially fatal consequences if untreated.
Dinges warned lawmakers that the threat is unlikely to disappear quickly. Texas could be dealing with the pest for 15 years or longer, he said, “as long as [the NWS] remains present in Mexico.”
Dinges and TAHC General Counsel Jeanine Coggeshall highlighted progress in the state’s response, but Dinges acknowledged a major limitation in current eradication efforts.
“At the end of the day, we don’t have enough sterile flies to eradicate it,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is using the sterile insect technique to combat the pest. The strategy involves producing and releasing large numbers of sterile male flies. When those males mate with female screwworm flies, no offspring are produced, gradually suppressing the population.
The screwworm response has also carried economic consequences for cattle producers.
Josh Winegarner, director of government relations for the Texas Feed and Cattle Association, said the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to livestock trade sharply reduced the number of feeder cattle entering the country.
“We saw [a] reduction [of] almost a million and a half feeder cattle that would traditionally come to the U.S., mainly to Texas,” Winegarner said.
“When that border closed, we were automatically reduced by a certain number, and that has caused significant impact, especially on the feeding sector,” he added.
The USDA has announced a phased reopening for feeder cattle beginning this month.
State Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, asked Winegarner whether the move could be characterized as “an effort to bring down beef prices.”
Winegarner agreed, while adding that he believed the reopening also reflected confidence in the science surrounding the threat.
“It's a recognition that the science is there to support us continuing that trade,” he said, adding that “the concern [that resulted in] the reaction of closing the border probably wasn't necessary.”
Water shortages strain Texas producers
Lawmakers also heard warnings about another persistent threat to Texas agriculture: water.
Troy Allen, president of the Texas Irrigation Council, described farms as facing a “fundamental shortage of supply.”
Allen pointed to drought and reduced inflows, along with Mexico’s failure to fulfill water deliveries under the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty, as major contributors to the shortage. He and other witnesses urged lawmakers to consider long-term investments in irrigation infrastructure.
Charlie Leal, state legislative director for the Texas Farm Bureau, said availability is only part of the problem.
“The larger issue” for Texas agriculture, he said, is “the aging infrastructure and the amount of loss of water from the source to the farmer and the rancher.”
Agriculture leaders describe an industry in crisis
As the hearing turned toward the broader resiliency of Texas agriculture, witnesses painted a stark picture of the industry’s financial condition.
State Rep. Stan Kitzman, R-Houston, asked Leal whether agriculture remained the “number two driver of the Texas economy.”
Leal responded by pointing to the number of producers who have left the industry.
“On the economic side, the challenges that we've all mentioned here [have compounded] over the years,” he said. “We've lost 17,000 farmers and ranchers who have gone out of business over the last five years alone.”
Leal warned that agriculture is increasingly being taken for granted even as demand for food and other agricultural products remains.
Texans have “never had a situation where we’ve gone without [farmers and ranchers],” he said, but “unfortunately, agriculture is being taken for granted by the general public.”
Kitzman questioned whether the condition of the industry was receiving sufficient attention.
“What are we gonna do for our Texas producers?” he asked. “If oil and gas were in the same shape as Texas agriculture, there'd be panic all over the place.”
Data centers and development compete for Texas land
The rapid expansion of data centers, renewable energy projects and urban areas also emerged as a concern for agricultural groups.
“Aside from ongoing urban sprawl, two recent causes for concern are solar projects and the proliferation of data center development,” Leal said. “Texas already has an estimated 220,000 acres of solar facilities, and the growing demand for data centers is adding additional pressure.”
According to Leal, Texas has lost 1.8 million acres of working land to non-agricultural uses during the past five years.
He identified Matador, Pacifico and Meta as three major data center developers expected to use more than 8,000 acres of Texas land.
“We respect the landowner's right to sell or lease their land, but there are options to conserve farm and ranch land that respect private property rights,” Leal said.
He urged lawmakers to consider funding that would compensate landowners who voluntarily place agricultural conservation easements on their property.
Witnesses said the effect of data center development goes beyond acreage. The industry can pay prices for land that agricultural producers struggle to match, while also competing for younger workers who might otherwise enter agriculture.
MAHA agenda raises concerns over crop protection
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative also surfaced repeatedly during testimony, particularly over the future of pesticides and herbicides used by producers.
Leal said farmers are concerned about potential restrictions on crop protection products, including glyphosate.
“There is growing concern that legislation could be proposed to restrict access to essential crop protection products,” he said.
“Limiting access to these products would increase production costs, reduce yields, and threaten both the affordability and the availability of food,” Leal added.
Agricultural representatives urged lawmakers to continue supporting what they described as science-based regulation.
Kody Bessent, CEO of Plains Cotton Growers Inc., said the cotton industry was concerned about the “negative impact” of MAHA messaging surrounding pesticides and herbicides.
David Gibson, executive director of the Texas Corn Producers Board, similarly stressed producers’ reliance on crop protection tools, saying “it’s essential for us to have some of these products.”
HB 43 earns praise from agriculture groups
Despite the concerns aired throughout the hearing, witnesses representing the corn, cotton, lumber, grain and feed sectors offered a largely positive assessment of HB 43.
Panelists said the legislation has helped expand access to capital, support workforce development and encourage investment in agricultural infrastructure.
The testimony provided a contrast to much of the rest of Tuesday’s hearing. While lawmakers and industry representatives described Texas agriculture as resilient, they also warned that resilience is being tested simultaneously by biological threats, limited water supplies, financial pressure, development and competition for workers.
