Welcome to your daily briefing on agriculture developments in Texas. Today we're covering 15 key stories including updates on texas agriculture headlines, texas agriculture updates, background & context. Let's dive in.
5 stories
The Texas Department of Agriculture operates as the official state agency overseeing agricultural matters in Texas.
Agriculture professionals across TX rely on this agency for regulatory guidance, market support, and industry programs that directly impact their operations.
The U.S. Drought Monitor provides an interactive map displaying current drought conditions across Texas.
Agriculture professionals rely on drought monitoring data to make critical decisions about irrigation, planting schedules, and herd management.
The Texas Department of Agriculture has published an overview of datasets available for its Food and Nutrition Programs through the state's open data portal.
TX agriculture professionals can leverage this centralized data to track program performance, identify market opportunities, and inform business decisions related to food and nutrition services.
The Texas Department of Agriculture maintains a dedicated Texas Ag Stats page compiling agricultural statistics for the state.
Access to reliable state-level agricultural data helps TX producers, agribusinesses, and policymakers make informed decisions about operations and market positioning.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service operates a Weekly Crop-Weather Survey that collects current information on crop progress, crop and pasture conditions, livestock condition, and soil moisture levels across the growing season.
Texas agriculture professionals can use this week-to-week tracking tool to benchmark local conditions against district-wide data and make more informed management decisions.
Reach professionals in this market
7 stories
This resource provides Thursday cash grain prices collected from participating elevators across Texas regions, with data series beginning in 2000.
Agriculture professionals in TX can track regional grain price trends to inform marketing and sales timing decisions.
The Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary reports that feeder cattle auctions are uneven and futures are mixed.
Cattle producers and feeders across TX rely on daily market snapshots to time sales and hedge risk in volatile conditions.
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) leads the state's efforts to ensure a secure water future for Texas and its citizens, supporting the state's broader vision for natural resources, health, and economic development.
A reliable water future is foundational for TX agriculture, directly impacting the viability of the natural resources and economic development that ag professionals depend on.
The Texas Poultry Federation represents more than 1,250 egg and chicken farmers across the Lone Star state.
Relevant to agriculture professionals operating in TX.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency provides federal crop insurance and risk management tools to agricultural producers.
Texas agriculture professionals can access federal crop insurance policies, revenue protection, and disaster assistance programs through this agency to mitigate weather and market risks unique to TX operations.
The Texas Farm Bureau has updated its media center with the latest agriculture news impacting Texas farmers and ranchers, including editorials, featured stories, and news releases.
Texas agriculture professionals can access timely, state-specific news and policy updates that directly affect their operations and livelihoods.
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Information. NASS publications cover a wide range of subjects, from traditional crops, such as corn and wheat, to specialties, such as mushrooms and flowers; from calves born to hogs….
Relevant to agriculture professionals operating in TX.
3 stories
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limited Section 1031 like-kind exchanges to real property only. Equipment trade-ins now produce a sale-and-purchase rather than a deferred exchange — meaning the trade-in value is taxable gain in the year of trade. Many producers and their accountants still treat trades the old way.
The tax difference can be six figures on a major equipment turnover year, fully due in the year of trade rather than spread across depreciation. Cash planning has to account for the full year's exposure.
In western states, "use it or lose it" applies to surface-water rights — five consecutive years of non-use creates a presumption of abandonment in many jurisdictions. Right-holders who switched crops or fallowed land without protective filings can find their water right reduced or extinguished without ever receiving notice.
Water rights are often the single most valuable asset attached to agricultural land, sometimes exceeding the land value itself. Quietly losing them through non-use is one of the most expensive avoidable errors.
State cottage-food laws permit home-prepared food sales without a commercial kitchen, but typically exclude meat, low-acid canned goods, dairy, and prepared foods requiring refrigeration. Some states limit annual sales volume; others require labeling that identifies the home-kitchen origin. The rules vary widely between adjacent states.
Operating outside the cottage-food exemption without a commercial license is unlicensed food production, with health-department citations and potential consumer-protection exposure.
Get Texas agriculture intelligence delivered to your inbox every morning.
Subscribe FreeView all past issues
Feature your brand across the U.S., Canada, and select international markets and 10 industry verticals.
Become a National Partner