By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Feral hogs have been an ongoing challenge for farmers and ranchers across the state for years.

Controlling the invasive species is one of Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) priority issues for the 88th Texas Legislature.

And TFB members like Buddy Earles, a South Texas rancher, stressed the need for control efforts and explained the severe damage the hogs cause.

“We need to be able to start getting control of this hog population. It’s gotten extremely explosive,” Earles said in an interview Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “A lot of people think that by hunting and trapping, we will be able to control the numbers, but we need to get around 75 to 80% killed just to keep the numbers where they’re at. Warfarin is one of the new tools that we can use to control them.”

The Environmental Protection Agency approved a label for warfarin, but there is currently no label for its use in Texas. But Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is supposed to field trial the toxicant this summer and determine how it can be used as another control method.

The destructive animals have been a problem on the ranch since he took over it in 2009, and Earles said the issue gets worse each year. Earles has used traps and brought in hunters to control the hogs.

But it hasn’t been enough.

Earles noted the impact feral hogs have on both farmers and ranchers. There are an estimated 6.9 million feral hogs in the United States. Texas is home to about 2.6 million of them.

They continue to destroy property and crops.

He spoke with State Rep. Ryan Guillen, District 31, in February during TFB’s Leadership Conference and visits to the Capitol.

“He was extremely concerned, was trying to get more information on how to control them and then we were talking about the new warfarin that they’re talking about using that it should be one of our new tools that will help us in bringing the numbers down, get a better control on the feral hog problem,” Earles said.

Speaking with his district’s state representative helps the state lawmaker better understand the impact feral hogs have on agriculture.

For more information on TFB’s state priority issues, click here.