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Texas Agriculture Archive

March 17, 2006

USDA opens $63M for hurricane relief

The USDA is making $63 million in Emergency Conservation Program funds available to assist agricultural producers struck by hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico region during the calendar year 2005.

"USDA was on the ground providing food and housing assistance in the immediate aftermath and we remain committed to the recovery," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said. "These funds are one more way we are reaching out to help Gulf Coast farmers rehabilitate operations damaged by last year's devastating hurricanes."

Producers in counties that were declared presidential or secretarial disaster areas due to hurricanes of 2005 are eligible.

Producers may receive up to 100 percent cost-share to remove debris and restore fences and conservation structures.

This $63 million is the first allocation from $199.8 million available in ECP funds. Additional funds for oyster, nursery and poultry producers and forest landowners will be made available when new rules authorizing assistance are published in the Federal Register. USDA's Farm Service Agency is developing these rules and plans to publish proposed rules for public comment in the near future.

For additional information and to apply for ECP assistance, eligible producers should visit their local FSA office. The ECP assistance is part of a $2.8 billion USDA package of aid to help agricultural producers and rural communities recover from the 2005 hurricane season. For more information on ECP and other USDA disaster aid programs, visit your local FSA office and FSA's website at www.fsa.usda.gov.

State animal health officials nix
March 23 hearing on premises ID

State animal health officials opted to cancel a planned March 23 meeting in Round Rock regarding the proposed premises identification plan in Texas.

According to the Texas Animal Health Commission, the meeting delay came as a result of the TAHC seeking clearer direction from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on implementation deadlines for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).

Premises registration is the foundation of the NAIS, which, when fully implemented, would enable animal health officials to trace the movement of diseased or exposed livestock or poultry within 48 hours.

TAHC reports as of March 8 that more than 8,200 of the state's estimated 200,000 premises have registered voluntarily.

Under the proposal, all sites which house, handle or otherwise deal with livestock will be required to register with TAHC by July 1, 2006. Only the types of species, not number of animals or acres ranched, will need to be given.

TAHC is proposing a $10 per year fee, paid biennially, after July 1. The next meeting is planned May 4.

U.S. Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (right) joins Earl Neuhaus (center), president of the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show board of directors, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of the recently constructed event center in Mercedes. The Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show in Hidalgo County has been a strong supporter of agricultural education and invited Texas Farm Bureau's Planet Agriculture to the show, which was held March 11-19.

TFB program airs energy
alternatives in rural Texas

Rural Texas will be hitting airwaves via satellite television in an upcoming installment of RFD-TV.

The 30-minute program will air at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 21. The program will focus on alternative energy, said Tom Nicolette, Texas Farm Bureau's director of media services.

The show will feature segments on wind energy in West Texas and the prospects of ethanol production statewide. RFD-TV, the national agriculture network, is a Direct TV program.

Notable Quotable

"As American businesses and jobs continue to move overseas, it is critical that Congress do everything it can to prevent the outsourcing of U.S. agriculture. A sensible agriculture guest worker program is crucial to ensuring that the industry is able to survive in the increasingly competitive global marketplace."

—North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten, in an op-ed published by the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer.