A continued push for eminent domain reform and important updates on the Veterinary Feed Directive, the Texas Grain Producer Indemnity Fund, chronic wasting disease and a new cattle fever tick vaccine were among the topics highlighted at this week’s Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) County Presidents’ and Summer Conference.
More than 450 attendees gathered in Horseshoe Bay for the June 27-29 meeting.
Special guests at the conference included Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush and American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.
Other presentations included updates on endangered species in Texas by Dr. Robert Gulley of the Texas Comptroller’s Office, the Texas economy by Dr. Parr Rosson of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and unmanned aerial vehicles by representatives of Lone Star UAS.
Farm Bureau leaders were encouraged to share their stories of eminent domain to aid in the organization’s effort to achieve greater eminent domain reform in the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature. A new online survey is available to allow property owners to easily share their experience.
“The Legislature will be impressed by evidence. We know there are a lot of stories out there about lowball offers and unfair pressure from property takers,” TFB President Russell Boening said to conference attendees. “We made a lot of progress on eminent domain reform during the last session, but we fell short of the full fairness we had hoped to achieve.”
The online eminent domain survey can be accessed here.