ATTENTION FARMERS AND RANCHERS: Are you in need of hay for your livestock after the recent Winter Storm? The Texas Department of Agriculture's Hay Hotline provides an online marketplace for hay buyers and sellers, and can even help locate grazing land for lease. By partnering with other agencies like the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, the TDA Hay Hotline is a critical disaster relief tool for Texas farmers and ranchers. To access the Hay Hotline website, please click here:

The weather conditions Texans have faced this past week have been devastating for numerous communities and all Texans deserve as much relief as possible. I am very disappointed that while all of the counties I represent qualified for emergency assistance for public facility damage, the vast majority were not included in the recent federal disaster declaration allowing for direct individual assistance to residents and businesses. I’ve spoken to our local elected officials and Texas/ federal agency representatives and will be immediately seeking for our counties to be added to the list of those eligible for both public and individual assistance. We have been told that other counties are being and will be added to that federal disaster declaration allowing for individual assistance as damage assessments are reviewed by federal authorities like FEMA. In order to make sure our local needs are represented, I’d encourage everyone to complete the Self Reporting Damage Survey released by the Texas Department of Emergency Management so that we can grasp a better understanding of the damages the recent storm has caused in our area. This information is vital for accurately show our need for federal assurance and will give emergency management personnel a more holistic view of the damages experienced by Texans that we can use in requesting providing relief. To access the Reporting Survey, click here: