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November 17, 2000

Water dominates
Resolutions Committee talks

By Lana Robinson
Field Editor

Water and the 2002 farm bill were the major topics of discussion when the 41-member Texas Farm Bureau Resolutions Committee met in Waco in early November. At the conclusion of the three-day meeting, resolutions on issues of state and national importance were drafted and sent out to county Farm Bureaus.

The committee's handiwork will also be presented to voting delegates for consideration during the organization's state convention at the end of this month.

Water, farm program

"Water and the farm program drew more discussion than anything else," said Delmas McCormick of Floydada, vice president of the Texas Farm Bureau board of directors, who chaired the resolutions committee. "We're very concerned with the rule of capture and junior water rights, for instance, throughout the state. Texas is a very large state, and we have a varied interest in water. I live in a water district. In Floyd County, we're primarily concerned with the underground water. Some people have surface water they are primarily concerned with, so this is going to be a problem to get everyone satisfied with a law when it's passed. I'm sure the state legislature is going to act on a water rights law this year, so we really need to have a policy worked out."

McCormick said road safety was another issue of concern on the state level.

"We didn't mention bridges per se, but we did discuss load limits on farm-to-market roads. Overloaded trucks that use them are breaking these roads down, and we're having trouble getting our trucks in and out of these farms with grain and cattle. This is an issue in Texas. We need to rebuild our road systems," McCormick insisted.

District 6 Director Kenneth Dierschke of San Angelo, vice chairman of the committee, said, "Hot button" issues in Tom Green County included estate tax repeal and the effects of drought.

Estate tax big issue

"The estate tax remains a big issue for us. The way our current policy reads, it calls for a 10- year period where it is phased in. What we are looking for in our resolution is an immediate repeal of the estate taxes without the 10-year phase-in. We think the estate tax is a very unfair tax, an unjust tax for our producers," said Dierschke.

Dierschke said drought issues are driving concerns about native rangeland in the San Angelo region.

"They are looking for a program that would pay us to take some of our animal units off our rangeland before we ruin our crop land," he said.

Glen Jones, TFB's Education, Research and Policy Development director, noted that national crop insurance was another topic receiving attention from the committee.

"There was quite a bit of discussion on that and whether or not crop insurance should be available for livestock producers," he reported. "The committee addressed new policy, changed some of our existing policy, and also recommended several deletions from the policy book."

Jones reiterated the fact that water issues dominated the discussion and with good cause.

"When the state legislature meets in January, S.B. 1 is certainly going to be at the forefront. We want to make sure that our farmers and ranchers have adequate water to carry on their activities," he said.

The TFB Resolutions Committee is comprised of three representatives from each Texas Farm Bureau district plus the chairman of the Young Farmer & Rancher Committee—Dr. Beth Winingham of Montague County this year—and is traditionally chaired by the vice president of the TFB board of directors.