In 1907, the state’s 13th Legislature passed legislation to formally create the department, replacing the Bureau of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, and History. According to the Texas State Historical Association, the original bureau had not kept up with collecting information on crops and livestock, resulting in a new department.
Today the agency is tasked with the following:
- Regulating pesticide use and application from residential to commercial use
- Certifying organically produced products to help ensure consumers have a reliable supply of organic products
- Protecting agricultural crops from harmful pests and diseases
- Facilitating trade and market development of agricultural commodities ranging from livestock to crops
- Providing financial assistance to farmers and ranchers in the form of loan guarantees, interest rate reductions and providing grants to young farmers
- Administering grant funds for agricultural research to develop new technologies
- Providing tools for communities to attract businesses and pursue other economic development opportunities
- Offering infrastructure grants to rural communities
Facts:
Budget: Estimated at $696 million overall, with a $22 million IT budget, according to Industry Navigator.*
Also of note — in the TDA’s legislative appropriations request for 2024 and 2025, the department has issued two exceptional item requests: $6 million for a new licensing system and $850,000 for additional IT resources.
Leadership: The current commissioner of the TDA is Sid Miller. Miller was elected in 2014 and began his third term in January 2023. The chief information officer is Bruce Hermes.
Staff: According to the department’s LinkedIn page, between 501 and 1,000 employees work for the TDA.
*Industry Navigator is a product of e.Republic, which also produces Industry Insider — Texas.
