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78R15028 CCK-D
By: Cook of Colorado, et al. H.R. No. 1079
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Texas rice belt, stretching across the coastal
plain from San Antonio Bay to the Sabine River, has long been a
major component of this state's agricultural sector; Texas ranks
fourth in production nationally, and milling, processing,
shipping, and other activities create a combined Texas rice
industry impact of $1 billion annually; and
WHEREAS, Production of this grain staple also yields
attendant environmental benefits; rice fields represent an
important habitat for many waterfowl, wading and shore birds, and
other wildlife and contribute as well a freshwater runoff to Texas
bays and estuaries that helps to nurture the state's fish and shrimp
populations; and
WHEREAS, Regrettably, Texas rice production and the total
dollar value earned by growers are both declining; total crop
output fell by a third between 1994 and 2000, a situation
exacerbated by a concurrent drop of about 20 percent in the
per-hundredweight price received by producers; and
WHEREAS, In November 2002 in Houston, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture held a listening session for rice farmers and other
interested parties to gauge what effect federal farm programs are
having on the economic viability of rice production and on other
parts of the rice industry and associated infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, Criticism focused on features of the 1996 and 2002
farm bills that reward, in common tenancy situations, not so much
the farmer as the landlord; the misplaced federal incentives thus
frequently pay for the idling of, rather than production from,
Texas rice fields; and
WHEREAS, Discussions prompted by the Houston session have
resulted in a proposal for a Texas pilot program to modify the 2002
farm legislation through an increase in the federal loan price,
producing an offsetting diminution in the formula-based
countercyclical payment; and
WHEREAS, A policy correction is imperative, given the current
situation in the Texas rice industry, and this chamber favors the
solution outlined above as the most feasible action to take that
will minimally impact the federal budget while bolstering the
state's rice farmers, its wildlife, and the livelihood of its
coastal rural communities; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas
Legislature hereby express its support for an increase in the
federal loan value for Texas rice in a pilot program that will
maintain the state's rice industry while fostering wildlife habitat
and other environmental and economic benefits along the Texas Gulf
Coast.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
Amend HR 1079 as follows:
(1) On page 2, line 8, strike "countercyclical" and
substitute "direct".
(2) On page 2, line 12, strike "minimally impact" and
substitute "result in cost savings to".
Brown of Kaufman