TSCRA leaders testified at two interim hearings of the House Land and Resource Management Committee this week. The hearings, one in Dallas on Tuesday and one in Corpus Christi on Wednesday, provided an opportunity for legislators to hear directly from landowners on abuses and inadequacies surrounding the use of eminent domain by private corporations. With the election and 2019 Texas Legislative Session just around the corner, now is a great time to contact your state legislators directly to tell them your story of dealing with eminent domain. You can find who represents you at fyi.capitol.texas.gov.

There was also good news out of Washington this week with the announcement of a deal with Mexico and Canada on a replacement for NAFTA. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, still needs the approval of Congress. TSCRA is supportive of the new agreement and is engaging where possible to encourage Congress’ approval.

The administration also announced in recent weeks a renewed agreement with South Korea, as well as a start to negotiations with Japan, both great news for U.S. beef producers. Japan and South Korea are respectively the number one and two destinations for U.S. beef exports.

Progress remains elusive on reconciling differences in the 2018 Farm Bill. Congressional leaders are now hoping for approval sometime between the November election and the end of the year. TSCRA is continuing to monitor the situation.

TSCRA staff were also at Ranch Gatherings this week to provide updates on policy issues impacting cattle producers. More gatherings are on the horizon and we look forward to seeing y’all there!