By Justin Green
Staff Writer
More than 150 Texas farmers and ranchers are in Washington, D.C. as part of Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) annual National Affairs Awards Trip.
The state and county Farm Bureau leaders visited the nation’s capital to talk with members of the Texas congressional delegation and their staff about current topics and issues affecting agriculture and the Lone Star State.
Trade, crop insurance, the farm bill and labeling laws topped the list of concerns.
Texas farmers and ranchers adamantly supported trade in meetings, sharing their beliefs that there is a large marketplace for international trade and it would create a larger supply and demand for several commodities.
“It’s been shown that it [Trans-Pacific Partnership] will increase ag exports and specifically increase farm income,” TFB President Russell Boening said in an interview with the TFB Radio Network. “And Texas is a big beneficiary of that.”
It’s unclear when the current Congress will address legislation authorizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Boening noted, but it’s still a major topic of discussion.
“The message our members are taking to the Hill is trade is good,” he said.
Agricultural-based technologies also were discussed. In U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee’s office, her staff showed strong support for using scientifically-proven agricultural technologies, including genetically-modified food.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and members of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s staff spoke with the leaders.
The group of state and county Farm Bureau leaders finish congressional meetings today.