Texas Grain Producers Elect to Not Establish Statewide Grain Indemnity Fund (1/6/2017)

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) today announced Texas grain producers have voted against the establishment of a producer assessment to self-insure against financial risks associated with selling or storing grain. TDA certified all the ballots, and the final results were 148 in favor of establishing the fund and 665 against.

A total of 813 valid ballots were certified by TDA based on the United States Department of Agriculture’s records of certified grain producers. By law, the proposal had to receive more than half of the total vote to pass.

The referendum provided grain producers the opportunity to decide, through an impartial, electoral process, whether the risk of financial loss from placing grain on storage deposit with a grain buyer warranted the establishment of an indemnity fund.

In 2011, the Texas Legislature passed legislation to create the Texas Grain Producer Indemnity Board (TGPIB). TGPIB established policies surrounding the implementation of the program, and TDA was tasked by the Legislature to conduct the referendum.