The current and future state of Texas agriculture was at the forefront of a recent visit by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz to cotton country last week.
The junior senator visited Texas Tech University in Lubbock and met with Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) leaders and representatives of other agricultural organizations.
“We’re thankful Senator Cruz and his staff took the time to sit down and talk with us about the issues facing Texas farmers and ranchers,” TFB President Russell Boening said. “We look forward to working with him to ensure the future of Texas agriculture.”
Boening and Cruz discussed the importance of agriculture to both Texas and the nation. They shared thoughts on trade, immigration reform, federal government overreach and the farm economy.
“Commodity prices are low. Input prices, for the most part, remain high. It’s going to be a difficult year for many,” Boening said. “It’s important we let the people who represent us in Washington know what Texas farmers, ranchers and dairymen face so they can better fight for us in the nation’s capital.”
Senator Cruz, who has represented Texas in Washington since 2013, recently voted in favor of the Peterson-Roberts GMO labeling bill, which was supported by TFB.
“This law preempts state laws, like Vermont’s, from going into effect and taking a toll on the whole nation. It prevents a patchwork of state-by-state laws that would have been difficult for food manufacturers to navigate and could have caused a rise in food costs,” Boening said. “We applaud Cruz’s vote in favor of the bill. It sets one standard for food labeling for our whole nation.”