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Texas State Representative Eddie Rodriguez has filed a bill to stop the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA)’s improper inspections of small farms. Now is the time to call your state representative to urge them to support this important bill!
As you’ll recall, the federal Food Safety Modernization Act’ Produce Safety Rule specifically exempts small-scale farms from its onerous and expensive requirements. But in implementing the rule, the TDA has gone far beyond the federal rule. TDA is:
- Requiring exempt produce farms to register with the agency
- Requiring on-site inspections of exempt farms and even those micro-farms that FDA has designated as “not covered”
- Applying a highly subjective standard – “egregious conditions” – under which it can shut down a farm and impose high fines
Passing H.B. 2397 will stop TDA’s harassment of small-scale farmers. And we need your help!
TAKE ACTION
Call your State Representative and ask them to support H.B. 2397 by co-sponsoring the bill.
You can find your State Rep and their contact info here. Or call the Capitol Switchboard at 512-463-4630, give them your zip code, and ask to be connected to your Representative’s office.
Sample message:
“Hi, my name is ___ ,and I live in [town.] I am ______________ {a farmer, a consumer, a local food advocate….} I am calling to urge Representative ____ to co-sponsor H.B. 2397, to rein in the Texas Department of Agriculture’s overreach on small farms. TDA should not be imposing even more burdensome and intrusive requirements on small farms than the federal government does.
Can you let me know where the Representative stands on this issue?”
MORE INFORMATION
The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance has a fact sheet about the bill at: http://farmandranchfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/TDA-overreach.pdf
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