By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
After the COVID-19 pandemic created disruptions in the food supply chain, consumers have increasingly turned to local farmers and ranchers for produce, meat, eggs and more.
To help consumers find local products, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) recently launched a new campaign, Direct from Texas.
Selling direct to the public allows Texas farmers and ranchers to avoid some delays in distribution chains while continuing to generate income until restaurants, cruise ships, hotels and other businesses fully reopen, according to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
“This is like agriculture used to be,” Miller said. “A farmer or rancher has a great product and they sell it directly to their neighbor. Today, that neighbor can be around the corner or across the globe. Direct from Texas provides our ag producers another avenue to reach customers until Texas finally reopens. And consumers get fresh, Texas-made products. That’s what I call a Texas ‘twofer’—everybody wins.”
A list of Texas farmers and ranchers selling items like beef, pecans, honey, vegetables, fruit and more directly to the public is now available online at TDA’s GO TEXAN website. The GO TEXAN program celebrates, promotes and supports Texas agriculture.
A new Direct from Texas Facebook group provides a forum for these businesses and consumers to interact and do business on social media.
“As COVID-19 continues to impact rural communities around the state, the ability for Texas farmers and ranchers to sell directly to the consumers proves the food supply remains strong despite interruptions in processing, packaging or distribution,” Miller said.
To join the Facebook group, visit http://www.facebook.com/groups/directfromtexas and request to join. Miller said there is no cost to appear on the listing or to join the Facebook group.
TDA created the list as a public service in support of Texas agricultural businesses.
Texans taking care of Texans. This is what it’s all about! A great opportunity for producers AND consumers. As a small producer of beef, I realize the positive impact this program will make. Texans helping Texans, Win-Win!
You might want to look into what it takes for a Texas rancher to sell beef direct. The regulations make it almost impossible. The ranchers sure need help with these regulations. Almost all of the small meat processing plants have been regulated out of business leaving only the big packers that are foreign owned and being investigated for price fixing.
We have continually had one hoop after another to jump through to be able to sell our beef, lamb and chicken. We do sustainable ranching for beef, sheep, and chickens. Since 2020 we have had one obstacle after another. We raise our animals, take them to the slaughter house, then would like to be able to store the frozen meat and sell straight to consumers. We have a container building converted into an office with the back half a freezer storage area. our house is about `150 ft from our facility, and no customers or employees come to our facility at all. The state has decided in order for us to sell our meat this way, we have to now have a restroom, mop sink, and hand washing sink in our meat storage area. Our toilet for the storage area can not be connected to our current septic system. They are requiring a separate septic installed.
There is no written regulation of this, yet they will not do the inspection until this restroom is complete. has anyone else had this issue? It makes no sense to me that we have to have a separate restroom when our house if within 150 ft and we do not have customers or employees at our facility.