RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (RFD-TV) — Changes in leadership are coming to Washington and Austin in January, leaving Texas agriculture leaders and producers wondering what the transition could mean for the industry.
Following Democratic victories in Congress, RFD-TV correspondent Frank McCaffrey spoke with Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller about the future of the farm bill.
“I think it’s just going to be gridlock in Washington, D.C. I don’t think anything’s going to get done. I just don’t see how it could possibly, Republicans, we’ve been in control now two years and we’re still three years behind on passing a farm bill. We can’t even get that done when we have majority in both houses of Congress. I don’t see how we can even get that done unless they get it done before the new group is sworn in. There’s some urgency to do that. I think they will try it.”
The election of Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa and Agriculture Commissioner-elect Clayton Tucker has also raised questions about the state’s agricultural priorities.
South Texas citrus producer Fred Karle says he plans to wait and see how the incoming administration approaches farming, although he doesn’t expect the changes to have much impact on citrus production.
“We need to kind of see how things sort out. We’ll be interested to see what our Texas secretary of agriculture is supportive of of modern agriculture and where things are out there.”
The new agriculture commissioner is scheduled to take office Jan. 5, 2027, with the governor’s inauguration set for Jan. 19.
