TSCRA Government and Public Affairs staff are continuing to monitor the upcoming Texas primary election and are engaging candidates to ensure they are supportive of issues important to cattle raisers.
On Monday USDA-APHIS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on the Environmental Assessment over the implementation of cattle fever tick eradication strategies on the Laguna Atascosa and Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuges. This means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be a more active participant in the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program allowing USDA-APHIS and Texas Animal Health Commission to commence cattle fever tick eradication strategies on refuge lands. This is a huge achievement for the beef industry and an enormous relief for ranchers and landowners adjacent to quarantined refuge lands. TSCRA will continue to be at the forefront on issues related to cattle fever ticks on behalf of the 2,885 premises accounting for nearly 1.4 million acres that remain under quarantine in Texas.
The U.S. Senate also introduced bipartisan legislation that would prevent farms and ranches from being regulated like toxic Superfund Sites. TSCRA supports the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method Act (or, FARM Act) and is encouraging its swift passage. For more information, you can listen to NCBA’s Beltway Beef podcast here.