By Robert Fleming

Riding from town to the farms and ranches as a child, I heard many stories told by my grandfather—who was born and raised in what now is the heavily urbanized I-35 corridor—of the changes of the era from 1915 to the 1970s. Small communities such as Oenaville, Bellfals, Durango, Cego and Blevins were described in great detail. Some of these small towns had gins, drug stores, blacksmith shops and barber shops. Today, there are only memories. 

Nearly all of the farms had at least one family living on them in the 1930s. They were housed in a small wood framed house, raised cotton and grew grain for their farm animals and mules. Most living conditions were somewhat harsh and families lived without electricity until it was available. Drinking water was furnished from cisterns that collected the rain water off of rusty tin roofs or from shallow stock tanks with a windmill and high tank tower to provide pressurized water to the house. Treatment of the water was unknown at the time. It was often told that mules pulled wagons filled with cotton, in lines over five miles long waiting to be unloaded at the area gins. 

The roads were all dirt, not gravel and the ruts became very deep in the rainy months. My granddad often mentioned he saw as many as 13 Model Ts stuck and abandoned in a five mile stretch between Oenaville and Temple.

If people traveled to Temple once a month, they were lucky. Nowadays they travel to town numerous times a day. If you traveled in a Model A, you better remember your license plate number when parking because all the cars were identical.

The kids didn’t go with their parents to town to get new shoes. Trace patterns of their feet were put onto paste board and carried to town to purchase shoes. To get to the small schools, kids walked or rode horses several miles. 

The depression of the 1930s and the drought of the 1950s, poor living conditions and higher wages in town forced nearly everyone to town for a better life. 

By the early 1970s, country roads were being improved, trash pickup service was created and community water systems were developed by buying water from lakes far away which would  pipe treated water directly to the housing. After these improvement to the country, the heirs of the landowners started slowly returning to their roots. 

Flashing forward to today, urbanization has started to take effect on these small country communities. Things such as stressful town life, crowded highways, and custom homes built on the farms have helped bring a huge migration of city people. 

When some landowners died off, some heirs had no ties to the land. High, escalating land prices of the new decade made it a quick and easy decision to sell. Some pieces of land were divided by the advice of the realtor into smaller, more valuable tracts, because of the higher demand of ranchettes. It’s interesting to watch a realtor pull up in a BMW—dressed in a skirt and high heels—wade out into the Johnson grass and try to put a for sale sign. Dividing the land into small sections caused more people, more houses, and more traffic for the producer to deal with. More people brought the demand of more roads, which meant more trash and more easements to try to cultivate around. 

These extra people are causing a problem for the producer on the roads. Farmers choose to travel the gravel and the Farm-to-Market Roads between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. when most people are at work in town to avoid a collision with the equipment. When traveling, farmers have to be more careful because our new neighbors may not yield to equipment on their commute to and from work. 
More people in the country has also forced producers to form a better relationship with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) inspector. The urbanites often call with complaints about spray machines or airplanes. 

Finally, precious farm and ranch land capable of producing abundant and safe food and fiber without irrigation is being taken up by ranchettes, leaving a farm family with fewer acres, causing a higher demand for agriculture land. 

In a few hundred years, when population outgrows food and fiber production, will concrete housing ever be completely removed for the land to be put back in production?

Business-wise, I had a call from the sheriff’s office recently at 11p.m. that a cow was hit on a Farm-to-Market Road. I arrived at the scene in record time, finding a small car completely destroyed, just knowing that the people inside couldn’t survive. Luckily, I was wrong. It was obvious the cow was mine with my personal information in her ear. My risk management plan was in place and my farm and ranch liability policy handled the claim. 

I’ve also had a truck plow into the back of a grain cart, with all the flashers operating properly, and a fresh Slow Moving Vehicle or (SMV) emblem just installed caused.

Both incidents caused me to rethink urbanized farming and ranching risk. 

Taking the advice of numerous articles, Extension specialists, and my attorney, we formed a Limited Liability Company(LLC) and Family Limited Partnership(FLP) for legal protection. Hopefully, this is another step to deal with an unpredictable future.  I certainly feel that future generations will have a tremendous challenge.

Robert Fleming is a farmer and rancher in Bell County.

Visit the Texas Farm Bureau website at www.txfb.org.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates on this topic and many more.

By Gene Hall

Texas' reputation as a private property rights state is somewhat overrated. Some of our political leaders talk about it a lot, but our failure to address eminent domain reform in a meaningful way is proof enough that we are not what some claim we are. Still, Texans undeniably care about property rights. That is the reason there is real hope that we break through the entrenched interests that like eminent domain the way it is. 

Some of my conservative friends feel they are on safe ground condemning government entities for abuses, yet, some of the most egregious cases have been at the hands of corporate entities with eminent domain authority. The list of folks who would rather not see reform is long. It does include municipalities, other government entities, pipeline companies, utilities, water districts and more. No one even knows how many entities have the power of eminent domain.

One thing we hear from our Farm Bureau members over and over again is this grating response, “We were told they’re taking it because they can.” Some basic customer relations training may be in order. Often, the taking authority offers less, knowing that only the most stubborn folks, with deeper pockets, can afford to fight them.

There are many things that can be done in the interest of fairness. Use existing rights-of-way whenever possible; minimize the damage to existing structures; clean up the mess; work with landowners instead of rolling over them. To be fair, all of this is done to some degree. Still, there is great anger from many who’ve experienced the process.

Eminent domain has been a part of law for more than four centuries. It came to the New World as part of European common law. It is so firmly established that it is useless to fight as a concept. I have myself described it as a necessary evil that is sometimes employed for the common good. At its best, it’s still evil. It’s always powerfully inconvenient. At times, it’s tragic.

Yet, Texas is growing so rapidly. The new Texans making their way here and those yet to be born will need roads, water, power and the infrastructure necessary to accomplish this. There is no way all of this can be stopped.

That’s why the efforts to reform eminent domain have focused on compensation. It’s ridiculous that a good faith offer is not even required to begin the proceedings. Market value is whatever the taking authority says it is. It’s also outrageous that property can be diminished in value with no compensation whatsoever. This has to change. 

Twice the legislature has been on the cusp of true reform. It has been derailed both times, once by veto and once by partisan bickering over another issue.

Yet, Texans have a powerful sense of fairness. Once again, those who are properly ashamed of our Texas eminent domain laws will attempt reform. When we get there, Texas will become the property rights state we now only pretend to be.

By Mike Barnett

We’re all aware of the financial toll of unfair eminent domain laws in the Lone Star State. Horror stories abound of sweet arrangements dealing raw hands to landowners when Texas laws deem property can be taken for the public good. What is rarely told is the human toll these archaic laws can extract.

Jim and Nazneen Talukder found the United States to be a land of opportunity. Natives of India, they immigrated first to California, and then found success in their medical practice in Texas. Jim had fond memories of his uncle’s farm in India, where he recalled fields of rice and wheat. Nazneen’s idea was to eventually build a home in the country. They followed their dreams to a perfect piece of land just north of McKinney—25 acres of green grass, trees—a place where they could entertain their friends and family, and perhaps make a home. Or so it seemed.

The illusion of an idyllic country life was soon shattered. With close proximity to Dallas, McKinney and surrounding communities are booming. With increased population comes the need for more public services, water and sewer included. The sewer lines between McKinney and neighboring Melissa come to a confluence at the Talukder farm. They were about to experience the horror of eminent domain laws in Texas.

Jim’s first experience in the fight for his rights as a property owner was an eye-opener. Trying to get a fair deal, he hired a lawyer. The land was condemned anyway. Jim was out both time and money. What followed were four years of construction, four years of animals escaping from torn fences, four years of heartbreak as the family watched the land they loved ripped and mangled by huge machinery.

Today, the land has been pieced back together in a hit or miss fashion. A sinkhole near the creek that borders the farm causes Jim concern for one corner of his property. A raw wound running the length of the property has been left by construction crews. A debris field straddles the center of the property. Unsightly manholes—the largest measuring four feet tall by eight to ten feet wide—dot one side of the small acreage.

Land that once brought pleasure now draws pain. More strife is due as another sewer connection is in the works. Efforts by Jim to negotiate how the line is to be run and the placement and configuration of more manholes failed.

Money talks for those with the power of condemnation, Jim feels. Financial considerations of the landowner are left unheeded. Who cares about emotional attachments? Damn the landowner. The cheapest route is the road taken.

The landowner is left to pick up the pieces—if they want them. Nazneen doesn’t. Jim is not sure. What once was a place full of laughter, of family and business get-togethers, now languishes. The joy is gone. What’s left is dreaded anticipation of the future.

Eminent domain laws in the Lone Star State are broken. Texans will have the opportunity to fix them as the Texas Legislature convenes in January. Let you state representative and senator know how you feel. Let the governor know, too.

Texas Farm Bureau members will lead the battle. We hope you will join the charge.

 By Mike Barnett

Okay, Texas Farm Bureau’s AGFUND endorsed candidate for governor lost the Republican primary. It was a huge disappointment for those who worked so hard to see Kay Bailey Hutchison heading our state government in Austin.

But as my blog writing partner Gene Hall said, the sun did come up on Wednesday morning. The birds sang. And life goes on. As does Texas Farm Bureau’s efforts to achieve true eminent domain reform.

Senator Hutchison recognized the archaic state of Texas property laws. She promised to right the private property wrongs which have plagued the Lone Star State. She promised to give true eminent domain reform priority in her administration. Although she was unsuccessful in a hard fought battle, Texas Farm Bureau’s fervor for private property rights justice has not cooled.

Nobody knows who will be elected in November. If the political pundits can be believed, it’s going to be a real horse race.

What I do know is although it has been bashed and battered over the last four years, the will to deliver eminent domain reform to Texas property laws has not been diminished. Farm Bureau leaders overachieved in their efforts to get Proposition 11 passed last year, and their efforts were rewarded as the constitutional amendment passed with the highest percentage of any of the proposals on the ballot.

But Proposition 11, which prohibits the government from acquiring land for non-public use, was only the first step. True reform will happen only when additional protections—including offers to landowners that represent fair market value, compensation to landowners for lost access to their property, and the right of landowners to repurchase land not used for condemning purposes—are added to state law.

 Texas Farm Bureau members need to work to finish reform efforts with the same intensity they tackled Proposition 11. We must lay the groundwork now to remind our state representatives and senators of the importance this issue holds for all Texans. New candidates for state government need to know where we stand.

When they go into session next January, state legislators must quickly affirm the language from last session’s SB 18, which unanimously passed the Senate but was tied up by the voter ID wrangling in the House as the session closed.

Any delay could be fatal to our efforts. If whoever is elected governor chooses to veto the reform bill, it would take every remaining day of the session to accomplish an override. There are many who are opposed to this effort to protect private property rights who will be seeking derailment at every opportunity. Those opportunities will abound with a legislative agenda crowded with Sunset bills, redistricting and dealing with an estimated $20 billion budget shortfall.

With the disappointments of the last two sessions, it would seem the deck is stacked against Farm Bureau in our eminent domain efforts. Not so. We are a grassroots organization of true believers. The fire to protect our rights as property owners burns deep within. We’ve come very close to achieving our goals two times.

Texans need eminent domain reform. Farm Bureau members are not timid in standing up for what they believe. We will work hard for success. I know we are up to the task. The third time will be the charm.

Sign up for Texas Agriculture Talks text alerts. Get a notice when we update our blog. Click Here

Election Day is next Tuesday and with it, your chance to affect government.  We don’t do politics on this blog, but we do government. We criticize when called for and praise when earned.  Okay, I admit it.  There hasn’t been much to praise recently. 

The debate on all the cable news shows is over whether or not government, at the federal level is “broken.” Well, Duh.  Of course it’s broken.  It’s never been more broken and frankly we’re seeing a lot of that in Texas government as well.

The extremes of the political spectrum, left and right, are throwing a blue faced tantrum.  There is no pretense of compromise, no give and take.  In every human relationship, we negotiate, we compromise and we decide what we are willing to give up in order to get something else we want.  Why should politics be any different?  It’s not, and the inability to accept this simple concept is the reason government is broken.

My message to the far left is, “No, we are not going to accept pushing the U.S. toward a status akin to the socialist democracies of Western Europe.”  The current majority in Washington misread their mandate in trying to achieve this.  Having said that, we know that there are certain things that only government can do.  Left unchecked, markets and capitalism sometimes go off the rails.  Reasonable amounts of adult supervision and regulations are prudent.  Too much of it can be a disaster.  Just check out what’s going on at EPA.  Park the steamroller and seek out common ground.

My message to the far right is, “There has got to be more to your plan than ‘no new taxes or reduce taxes.”  Government has obligations.  I am closer to your position than to the left, but come on.  Stonewalling is a poor tactic.  Compromise is possible and desirable without sacrificing principle.  Failing to understand this is why you’re now in the minority.  Americans are with you on smaller government, but you really haven’t delivered on that.  We can’t spend like we’ve been spending under both Democrats and Republicans without the bill coming due.  I’m not comfortable in sticking my five month old granddaughter with the check.

What I’m getting at here is that both sides have their feet set in stone, claiming that it has to be all white or all black.  There are shades of gray in governing.  There are tough decisions that must be made.  People live in the big middle. Ideologues like to lurk on the edges.  If the left and right can move to the middle, I think they’ll find most people there waiting for them.  Governing is choices.  Governing is compromise.  It has been thus since the beginning of our republic.

If you think your elected officials need a nudge to get there, Tuesday is your chance.

Sign up for Texas Agriculture Talks text alerts. Get a notice when we update our blog. Click Here

By Kenneth Dierschke
Texas Farm Bureau President

           Texans scored an “important but incomplete” victory by an overwhelming margin in the battle for private property rights with the passage of Proposition 11.
            The approximately 80 percent favorable vote is a clear message to the Legislature and the Governor that Texans are tired of eminent domain reform taking a back seat to political ambitions and business interests. But even with the passage of Proposition 11, Texas eminent domain laws still favor the condemner.
            True reform will happen only when additional protections are added to eminent domain law such as offers to landowners that represent fair market value, compensation to landowners for lost access to their property and the right of landowners to repurchase land not used for condemning purposes.
            Texas legislators in the last two sessions have proven willing to level the playing field for property owners. Except for his support for Proposition 11, the governor hasn’t.
            Hopefully, whoever sits in the governor’s seat when the legislature meets again in 2011 will hear Texas Farm Bureau’s message loud and clear. Proposition 11 is an important step for eminent domain reform in the Lone Star State, but only a step.
            Texas Farm Bureau members worked hard to ensure the overwhelming passage of this important private property rights amendment to the Texas Constitution. We will redouble efforts to make sure the job is complete.

How many of you thought the troublesome issue of eminent domain reform was over and done with? After all, there was a news conference in front of the Alamo claiming victory for property rights. Texas Farm Bureau was there. It was a victory, but a smaller one than some might say.

The passage of House Joint Resolution 14 does put a constitutional amendment on the ballot this November that prevents eminent domain use for economic development. It’s the last of the 11 ballot propositions – Proposition 11 – and perhaps the most important.

Proposition 11 will prevent the taking of private property for use by other private entities. Much of this was already in statute, but a constitutional amendment gives it teeth. Texas Farm Bureau will work very hard to pass this amendment with a substantial majority. In fact, we’d like to make it a referendum on finishing the job on eminent domain reform.

That’s right. The job is not yet done. The veto of reform in 2007 and the legislative log jam that was the 2009 legislative session has left Texas – a state with a self image of strong property rights – with one of nation’s worst eminent domain laws. We still have to change that if we’re serious about property rights in Texas. Other states, California and Florida among them, compensate fairly when property is taken. Are we really willing to settle for less here in the Lone Star State?

We still don’t know how many entities have eminent domain in Texas. There are thousands of them though. If they "low ball" you on a first offer for your property, then the decision and the expense of taking the matter to court is yours. So are the relocation expenses and every other cost associated with this unfair process. If you lose access to your property, there is no compensation. Still missing is a workable definition of public use.

We are now up to two bills, and counting, that would have reformed eminent domain in a way that does not saddle Texas property owners with the lion’s share of the consequences for progress. Governor Perry could have and should have included eminent domain reform in the recent special session. I expect he will often be asked why he did not.

Everyone who cares about reforming eminent domain should work to keep the issue alive until 2011. At stake is a question of basic fairness. Texas talks the talk on property rights. It’s time to walk the walk. We can start on November 3 with a big turnout and overwhelming passage of Proposition 11. Then the real work begins.