IN-DEPTH: Texas Proposition 1 Aims to Protect Farmers and Ranchers, Ensure Food Security

IN-DEPTH: Texas Proposition 1 Aims to Protect Farmers and Ranchers, Ensure Food Security
Beef ranchers survey their herd of cattle in Quemado, Texas on June 13, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Jana J. Pruet
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Texans will not be electing state lawmakers when they hit the polls next month, but they will be deciding on 14 amendments — the highest number of propositions to appear on the ballot since 2007.

Among the broad array of amendments voters will find is Proposition 1, also known as the “Right to Farm Act,” which supporters say is necessary for food security.

“There is a need to protect the right to farm and ranch in Texas in order to ensure our food security,” reads the author’s bill analysis.

In May, state lawmakers approved House Joint Resolution 126, authored by Republican state Rep. DeWayne Burns, to be placed on the Nov. 7 ballot.
The proposition builds on the Texas Right to Farm statute that was originally enacted in 1981 to protect farmers from undue regulations and lawsuits.

Proposition 1 is intended to enshrine the right to farm, protecting farmers and ranchers from regulations or “nuisance ordinances” imposed by neighboring municipalities, according to Mr. Burns.

“Farmers who engage in production agriculture within municipal boundaries are being subjected to broad overregulation by municipal ordinances that prohibit and greatly restrict normal practices of agricultural operations, such as the raising and keeping of livestock, the production of hay, and cultivation of certain row crops,” the analysis continues.

It also states that landowners would be protected and empowered under the state Constitution to “engage in certain generally accepted agricultural practices on their own property.”

Proposition 1 received unanimous support in the state legislature, excluding absent or non-voting members. If the measure gets voter approval, the proposition would be added as Section 36 to Article 1 of the Texas Constitution.

Supporters of the Measure

Proposition 1 has received a lot of support from various agencies and associations across the state.
Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is among the amendment’s strong supporters. He described the passing of HJR 126 as a “historic day for Texas and Texas agriculture.”

“Farming is at the heart of our Texas culture, economy, and history. We must pass Prop. 1, the Right to Farm Act, and we must support our farmers and ranchers,” Mr. Miller wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “A generation of Texas farmers are retiring. It’s not clear who will replace them.”

Other supporters of the proposition include the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB), Independent Cattlemen’s Association, and Texas Cattle Feeders Association.

“Texas Farm Bureau strongly supports the constitutional amendment,” TFB President Russell Boening told The Epoch Times in an email, adding that the proposition is a “monumental opportunity for Texas farmers and ranchers and for Texas agriculture.”

In 2022, more than 470,000 people moved to Texas, pushing the state’s population past 30 million — the second highest in the nation behind California, with more than 39 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
A 2020 study showed Texas is losing over 240,000 acres of working lands to development each year.

“Proposition 1 maintains the legacy of agriculture in our state by protecting the right to farm and ranch,” Mr. Boening said. “It is critical that farmers and ranchers be able to grow food, fiber, and fuel for our state and nation as more and more agricultural areas are impacted by development and population growth.”

Texas state Rep. Kyle Kacal says the amendment builds on the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife amendment that was overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2015.
“I think if we go back two sessions, we passed a constitutional amendment for the right to hunt and fish,” he recently told KBTX-TV. “It makes perfect sense that we do the right to farm and ranch now. Obviously, we should have put that in the Texas Constitution on day one when Texas was formed, but I’m glad we’re getting it done now.”

‘Right to Farm’ or ‘Right to Harm?’

Even with strong backing for this amendment, there are some critics who believe more work needs to be done to ensure the proposition would not have unintended consequences.

True Texas Project, a conservative PAC, says it opposes Proposition 1, citing the language as “overly broad” and that further study is needed to understand the impact of the measure.

“Constitutional amendments are too powerful to support without a complete understanding of the full impact,” True Texas Project states in its list of voter recommendations on its website. “Our top advisors on small farms and ranches advise voting against this amendment because it will give cover to major industry taking over smaller operations.”

Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) says it fully supports the “right to farm,” but it claims the issue is tricky because local governments often “weaponize zoning laws to drive out small farms because they don’t think agriculture belongs” in their community.

“The problem is that big agribusiness uses this legitimate issue to push overreaching laws that are more properly labeled ‘right to harm’ than the right to farm,” FARFA wrote in a blog post about Proposition 1.

FARFA says the amendment’s language is too broad, and while it would provide protection for farms that are being harmed, it could also pave the way for big businesses to take advantage of the protections afforded by the provision.

“There is also the potential for widespread harm to farmers in the future due to the damage caused by bad actors being protected under HJR 126,” FARFA wrote. “When you block reasonable regulations, you not only hurt people who suffer from the unregulated regulated action, you also get the stage for a backlash and far more unreasonable regulations.”

Texas Agriculture: Multi-billion Dollar Industry

Texas tops the nation with more than 248,000 farms and ranches covering 127 million acres, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Cattle is the state’s top agricultural commodity at $12.3 billion, followed by broiler chickens at $2.9 billion, with cotton coming in third at $2.6 billion.

“Each year, Texas generates about 24.7 billion in cash receipts from agriculture and employs 1 out of 7 working Texans,” the commissioner said in a press release in May. “This industry has earned its place in our Constitution.”

Texas’ agriculture industry also produces billions in corn, greenhouse, forestry, eggs, sorghum, fruits, vegetables, and wheat.

However, farm sizes are shrinking across the state. Since 2012, the average size of a farm farm has decreased by 12 acres to an average of 411 acres.

Ballot Language

On the ballot, Proposition 1 will read as follows:

“The constitutional amendment protecting the right to engage in farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management.”

A vote “for” would support establishing the right to farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management in the Texas Constitution.

A vote “against” opposes establishing the right to farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management in the Texas Constitution.

‘America the Beautiful’ Threat to Agriculture

Last month, The Epoch Times’ Roman Balmakov exposed how the Biden administration and governments across the globe are using the so-called climate crisis to take control of private farmlands.

In the exclusive documentary, “No Farmers No Food: Will You Eat the Bugs?” Mr. Balmakov showed how the decades-old master plan is being implemented and threatens to disrupt the U.S. and world food supply.

In June 1992, shortly after the Cold War ended, world leaders gathered for the United Nations Conferences on Environment and Development, where they created Agenda 21, later renamed Agenda 30.

The U.N. set forth these global policies with the goal of ending private farming to create dependence on a one-world government that will control the food supply.

As food prices climb, world leaders place blame on climate change.

“And their solution might surprise you,” Mr. Balmakov says in the film. “According to the United Nations, [bugs] might actually be your future dinner.”

But one of the biggest surprises to Mr. Balmakov was how far the agenda has taken hold in the U.S. under the guise of conservation and stewardship.

The Biden Administration enacted the 30x30 initiative, later dubbed “America the Beautiful,” which establishes a plan to reclaim and restrict the use of at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

The act is implemented through federal easement programs and acquisitions and the Endangered Species Act.

Last year, California’s water board introduced emergency drought regulations, citing protection for the Coho salmon, which it claims is endangered.

Cattle rancher Theodora Johnson of Scott Valley says the drought regulations prevent property owners from accessing their own groundwater, which makes ranching unsustainable.

Similar examples are happening across the country as states and local governments create legislation to reclaim water and land for alleged conservation purposes.

States with Similar Provisions

Missouri and North Dakota adopted right-to-farm amendments in 2014 and 2012, respectively.

In 2016, a similar amendment failed in Oklahoma before it could be placed on the ballot.

Jana J. Pruet
Jana J. Pruet
Author
Jana J. Pruet is an award-winning investigative journalist. She covers news in Texas with a focus on politics, energy, and crime. She has reported for many media outlets over the years, including Reuters, The Dallas Morning News, and TheBlaze, among others. She has a journalism degree from Southern Methodist University. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]
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