05/25/2026
Warning - long, informational post alert!!
Last week well over 200 Texas Farm Bureau members from across the state visited Washington D.C. Not only did we get to hear from Secretary of Agriculture Rollins, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Vaden, but we also heard from Representative Kat Cammack of Florida, Senator Ted Cruz, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Don Davis of North Carolina, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, and Chairman of the Ag Committee, Senator Bozeman of Arkansas! All well-spoken and seem to be well-aware of and care about what needs to happen to help farmers and ranchers.
Additionally, each Farm Bureau district was able to visit with members of Congress, or their staff, who represent their districts. All were encouraged to share their concerns and many spoke up eloquently. District 10 visited Roy's staff, Castro's staff, and Henry Cuellar and shared concerns about fair trade and shifting regulations, the H2A worker program and the need to streamline it, the need for competition within the U.S. (especially fertilizer), the need for a ready supply of water and the potential impact of data centers, the Farm Bill, the need to lower input costs for farmers especially, the future of E-15, keeping agricultural land in production and moving solar farms to cities, and more.
One take-away: "The Farm Bill should be bipartisan because food is bipartisan" (Cuellar).
It was a productive opportunity and also provide opportunities to see Washington D.C. Thank you, Texas Farm Bureau!