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2020 Year In Review for Texas Department of Agriculture
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Thursday, December 31, 2020, AUSTIN - The Texas Department of Agriculture, like so many Texans during this difficult time, experienced success and challenges throughout 2020. From the successful launch of the Industrial Hemp program in March to the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, TDA continued its mission to protect Texas agriculture, provide food assistance to schools and communities, and promote Texas-made products and businesses – all while staff worked remotely.
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COMMISSIONER MILLER ASKS GOVERNOR ABBOTT TO UTILIZE UNSPENT CARES FUNDING
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Tuesday, December 15, 2020, AUSTIN- Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller respectfully requested Governor Abbott utilize unexpended State CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) funding to support Food Banks and Rural Hospitals statewide. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the State of Texas, Food Banks and Rural Hospitals continue to provide resources to assist the citizens of Texas. Unexpended CARES funding provided to the Governor’s Office will not be allowed to be expended after the December 31, 2020 expiration of the funding provided by the CARES Act.
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OPINION: THANKSGIVING: FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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Wednesday, November 25, 2020, As the holiday season rapidly approaches, we are once again reminded of the abundant blessings in our lives. However, this year’s turn of events has added a newfound sense of gratitude. I think we can agree 2020 surprised us all. COVID-19 arrived unexpectedly and life as we knew it changed in the blink of an eye. Thanks to this lousy virus, even Thanksgiving might look a little different for Texans this year. Just last week over 24,000 Texans lined up at The North Texas Foodbank ahead of the holidays.
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GETTING RID OF PESTICIDES THE TDA WAY
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Tuesday, October 27, 2020, AUSTIN- The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service joined forces Wednesday, October 21 to host a Pesticide Waste Collection and Pesticide Container Recycling event in Lubbock, Texas. This free, public event allowed agriculture producers to safely dispose of unwanted pesticides and pesticide containers.
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OPINION: AGRICULTURE EDUCATION IS THE LATEST COVID-19 VICTIM
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Thursday, October 15, 2020, Agriculture can be a tough business. As an eighth-generation farmer and rancher, I am very familiar with the ups and downs brought on by drought, windstorms, hail, flooding, market fluctuation and government regulation. For that reason, it can often be hard to keep farming and ranching as a family business. When faced with the easier opportunities today’s world offers our kids, agriculture can be a pretty hard sell. It takes a special young man or young woman to step up and choose agriculture.
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COMMISSIONER MILLER ENCOURAGES TEXANS TO APPLY FOR TDA’S EVENT GRANT FUNDING
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Wednesday, October 14, 2020, AUSTIN- Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is now accepting applications for the Texas Event Grant, a program that provides funding for public events to promote Texas products and businesses. Cities, communities and organizations are encouraged to apply for Texas Event Grant funding for events in calendar year 2021. Applications must be submitted by December 15, 2020.
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COMMISSIONER MILLER KICKS OFF NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH WEEK
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Monday, October 12, 2020, AUSTIN- Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the start of National School Lunch Week 2020, which takes place Oct. 12 to 16. National School Lunch Week recognizes the role of school nutrition in healthy lifestyles despite challenges brought on by COVID-19. The Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) theme Blast Off with a Healthy School Lunch provided school nutrition teams with easy-to-use resources they can combine with their meal-service operations. Schools placed orders for more than 1 million educational pieces including social distancing floor decals, display-sized participation charts, buttons, stickers, and other resources promoting good nutrition and the hard work of school nutrition teams.
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COMMISSIONER MILLER HONORS WINNERS OF 2020-21 ART CONTEST
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Wednesday, October 7, 2020, AUSTIN- Today, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the winners in the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) 2020 You Art What You Eat student art contest. Artwork inspired by the winning entries will be displayed in schools across Texas during National School Lunch Week this month and School Breakfast Week in the spring. This year’s themes are centered around space exploration — Blast Off with a Healthy School Lunch and Blast Off with a Healthy School Breakfast.
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COMMISSIONER MILLER ANNOUNCES FARM TO SCHOOL MONTH
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Thursday, October 1, 2020, Today, Commissioner Sid Miller announced the Texas Department of Agriculture Farm to School Month will kick off in October 2020 to build connections between Texas farmers and ranchers and Texas students participating in federal school nutrition programs.
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COMMISSIONER SID MILLER ANNOUNCES 2020 HEALTH AMBASSADORS FOR A READY TEXAS (HART)
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Tuesday, September 22, 2020, AUSTIN- Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller today announced he has named a new team of high school students as Health Ambassadors for a Ready Texas (HART). These young Texans will increase awareness of local foods and Texas agriculture using resources such as TDA’s Farm Fresh Initiative. Ambassadors will also promote school meals during National School Lunch Week, Farm to School Month and other exciting events throughout the year. They collaborate with school staff and TDA to drive engagement in these activities as well as creating their own plans to develop healthier campuses.
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TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON SCHOOL MEALS AS STUDENTS RETURN
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Thursday, September 17, 2020, (AUSTIN) This week Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has provided additional guidance to the public, elected officials, and school leaders on how Texas will implement federal school meal programs in this state for the fall semester. This follows a broad announcement last week by USDA about availability and cost of school meals. The announcement from USDA can be read HERE.
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TEXAS AG COMMISSIONER SID MILLER RECRUITS STAR POWER TO PROMOTE FARM FRESH FOODS
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Sunday, September 13, 2020, AUSTIN- Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced Grammy award winning country music artist Miranda Lambert and All Pro Houston Texan linebacker Whitney Mercilus have teamed up with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) to promote the agency’s Farm Fresh Initiative on radio and social media.
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