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February 25, 2021

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

As you are aware, the entire state of Texas was severely impacted by an unprecedented winter storm, which resulted in millions losing electricity, power and water. As the top agricultural producing states in the nation, Texas farmers and ranchers are once again facing production losses and are in dire need of assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to recover and continue operating. 

On February 12, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a disaster in all 254 Texas counties noting the severity of the storm that wreaked havoc on our state. We thank President Biden for his partial approval of Governor Abbott’s February 18, 2021 disaster declaration request for federal assistance to Texas. 

However, as crop and livestock damages are assessed from the catastrophic winter weather, we believe many of Texas’ 254 counties will qualify for significant losses across our agricultural sector. Granting qualifying counties a USDA disaster designation would make assistance and emergency loans available to all producers who have suffered losses across the state.

Further, this winter storm came at a time when Texas’ hardworking farm and ranch families were already struggling through COVID-19. They were also working to recover from other extreme weather events, such as hurricanes in South Texas and drought in other regions of the state. Additionally, commodity and livestock markets remain very volatile. When you combine all these factors together, it makes it extremely difficult for producers to continue feeding and clothing the world.

In addition to providing a USDA secretarial disaster designation for counties impacted by the winter storm, we eagerly await your appraisal and subsequent resumption of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) as the recently confirmed Secretary of Agriculture. We also look forward to working with you to implement the latest round of agricultural assistance passed in the end of year COVID-19 relief package.

As Texans continue to join in their efforts to combat and overcome the aftermath of this storm, we as a bipartisan delegation offer our unwavering assistance as liaisons between the USDA and Texas agriculture producers.

We thank you for your support of Texas’ agriculture industry. Should you have additional questions please contact our offices so that we may provide all the necessary emergency resources to Texas farmers and ranchers.

Sincerely,