Combs travels state to town hall meetings

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

Oct. 7, 2004 - "On the road again" could have been Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs' theme as she traveled across the state, making stops in 15 cities, for town hall meetings.

Visiting ag producers and community leaders, Combs said citizens across the state were mostly concerned about rural economic development.

The commissioner stated, "You can tell when there is pride in a town by the way it looks."

Combs also urged rural citizens and leaders to unite with their neighbors.

"Act together, county with county, on issues," stressed Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs during one of the public meetings.

"If you assume you're going to get run over, you're going to get run over," she added.

These statements were made after an audience member stated rural Texas was losing their clout.

To keep rural issues prominent for policymakers, Combs noted she is one of 65 members of a rural legislative caucus. This caucus meets to discuss daily legislation which effects rural Texas.

"We meet every day during the (legislative) session," Combs said.

The commissioner pointed out session topics that will be of interest to rural citizens during the next legislative session - water and school finance.

"Pay attention to water," she began, and "school finance is going to be a monster," she added.

Other subjects during the meetings ranged from feral hog control, to school nutrition, to ag diversification (TDA is hosting ag diversification workshops for the public in Nacogdoches, Cisco, Edinburg, and Sequin. For complete details, call 512-475-0885.)

Feral hogs are a big nuisance, especially in East Texas. During the last town hall meeting, held Sept. 27 in the East Texas town of Pittsburg, Combs said she has proposed a pilot project of $500,000 targeted to East Texas counties in regards to feral hogs. The project will more than likely be implemented by the animal damage control which now falls under the Texas A&M Extension Services.

"It will mostly be for cropland which has the most rapid loss of dollars overnight," she said.

Combs stated she learned from one of the town hall meetings in West Texas that a farmer was importing feral hogs from East Texas. "His neighbors are not happy."

Combs conducted the "town hall meetings ... (because) agriculture and rural communities are facing so many challenges, I want to know firsthand about local concerns and issues. Some regions of Texas have very specific needs, and by working with producers, industry groups, and local, state and federal governments we can address these issues and ensure that agriculture and rural Texas remain strong throughout the state."