Combs addresses ag, rural issues at East Texas meeting

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

September 13, 2003 -- Addressing issues such as feral hogs, state funding for agriculture projects and school meals, foot-and-mouth disease, citizens gathered in Quitman on Sept. 4 to listen to Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs during one fo seven town hall meetings in the state.

One of the biggest concerns for East Texas, expressed Wood County Extension Agent Jerry Jackson, is the feral hog population. "What is being done to help with the feral hog population?" was asked.

Combs said she was working with State Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Dist. 5) on combating the feral hog problem, which are a "people risk, crop rip-up risk, and a disease risk."

"I received a letter from Chester Fehlis (Texas Cooperative Extension director) stating there is a feral hog problem and we are convening a task force to see if something can be done," Combs stated.

Another question from the audience concerned the water war between Texas and Mexico.

Combs stated she would be meeting with "satellite imagery guys" on Sept. 5. to find out the lastest conditions of Mexico's crops and fields found by imagery pictures, and she will continue to call Chihuahua's Gov. Patricio Martinez a "rogue and renegade" if that's what it takes to resolve the water debt issue.

"Our guys are dying from lack of water," she concluded.

Other subjects were wind and fire ants, which according to Combs, "nobody so far has a silver bullet" on how to best harness these.

"If gas gets higher, then wind makes sense (in reference to windmills used in West Texas for electrical power)," she said.

Combs installed a solar pump on her ranch in Brewster County in 1989. "It has six solar panels and it's never failed once. It was very expensive but I am happy with it."

Combs also told the audience the Environemntal Protection Agency (EPA) was looking into regulating the amount of dust in the air, which made her feel "uneasy, if you are talking about dust in Texas."

Gene Bruner, a Wood County cattle producer, said he found the Sept. 4 meeting informative. He liked the fact that Combs stated they were going to try to get money to find out more about feral hogs. He was also interested in the dust matter.

"If the EPA limits the amount of dust in the air, and gives us a problem about air quality, then that affects farmers and agriculture," Bruner cited.