House Ag Committee to Review Farm-Loan Overhaul, Weigh Future of Texas Agriculture

The Texas House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock will gavel in at 11 a.m. Aug. 18 to take invited and public testimony on three interim charges: implementation of last year’s overhaul of the state’s farm-lending authority, the long-term resiliency of Texas agriculture, and oversight of the 14 state agencies under the panel’s jurisdiction.

Texans who cannot attend can submit written comments on every agenda item through the House comment portal until the hearing adjourns, according to the hearing notice.

Chaired by Rep. Ryan Guillen, R–Rio Grande City, with Rep. R. D. “Bobby” Guerra, D–Mission, as vice chair, the nine-member panel — seven Republicans and two Democrats — meets in Room E1.026 of the Capitol Extension. The stakes reach well beyond the hearing room: agriculture supports a $150 billion annual economic impact in Texas, where roughly one in seven working Texans holds an agriculture-related job, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.

The monitoring charge centers on House Bill 43, the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority overhaul that Gov. Greg Abbott signed on June 20, 2025, with immediate effect. The bill’s author, Rep. Stan Kitzman, R–Pattison, sits on the committee, and Guillen and Rep. Janie Lopez, R–San Benito, both joint-authored the measure — meaning three of the nine members have a direct hand in the law they will now review.

HB 43 removed the 18-to-46 age limits on the authority’s young-farmer programs, raised loan caps to $1 million and expanded grant awards from $20,000 with a full matching requirement to $500,000 with a 10 percent match, while opening eligibility to agriculture-essential businesses such as feed stores and cotton gins. Members will probe how the Department of Agriculture’s rulemaking is carrying out those changes.

The centerpiece charge, “Resiliency of Texas Agriculture,” directs the committee to examine the competitiveness of the state’s producers against global market distortions, rising input costs, labor constraints, water scarcity and regulatory compliance burdens, and to recommend ways to expand access to capital. The review lands after a punishing stretch for Texas producers.

The Texas Dispatch chronicled how the New World screwworm’s return upended Texas agriculture this summer, and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller declared an agricultural emergency across 59 flood-hit counties in July. Miller has also pressed for aggressive screwworm action even as Mexican cattle imports resume.

The oversight charge invokes the committee’s authority under Section 301.014 of the Government Code to monitor its agencies for fraud, waste and abuse. The roster runs from the Department of Agriculture, the Texas Animal Health Commission and the State Soil and Water Conservation Board to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the Apiary Inspection Service, the veterinary medical examiners board and the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation. The notice opens electronic comment on each agency individually — an invitation for Texans with specific grievances to put them on the record.

Because this is an interim hearing, the committee will take no votes on legislation. Its findings will feed the interim report that shapes the agriculture bills lawmakers carry into the 90th Legislature, which convenes in January 2027.

Meeting at a glance

Committee members

• Rep. Ryan Guillen, R–Rio Grande City (HD-31) — Chair
• Rep. R. D. “Bobby” Guerra, D–Mission (HD-41) — Vice Chair
• Rep. Briscoe Cain, R–Deer Park (HD-128)
• Rep. Andy Hopper, R–Decatur (HD-64)
• Rep. Stan Kitzman, R–Pattison (HD-85)
• Rep. Janie Lopez, R–San Benito (HD-37)
• Rep. Don McLaughlin, R–Uvalde (HD-80)
• Rep. Brent A. Money, R–Greenville (HD-2)
• Rep. Sergio Muñoz Jr., D–Mission (HD-36)