Texas Department of Agriculture's Wine Passport Program Wins Award

The Texas Department of Agriculture's Texas Winery Passport Program won the 2010 North American Agriculture Marketing Officials (NAAMO) Agricultural Marketing Excellence award!

The winery passport program works in new and innovative ways to offer incentives to visitors experiencing Texas wine country. Through the program, more than 1 million travelers visit Texas vineyards and wineries, while meeting the winemakers who take pride in their craft. Thanks to those winemakers, Texas is the fifth-leading wine-producing state in the nation.

When travelers redeem their passports, not only does TDA send them a reward or connect them with a reward-donating winery that offers tastings, dinners or overnight stays, the agency also receives valuable feedback about consumer interests that serves as essential market research.

NAAMO awarded TDA and Texas this honor above all other U.S. states and Canadian provinces. To learn more about the Texas Winery Passport Program, visit www.gotexanwine.org.

Congratulations again to TDA's Marketing and Promotion Division for superior strategy and excellent execution!

Texas Ag Commissioner helps Texas Ranchers Rebuild after Hurricane Ike

On Saturday, April 25, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples led an effort to rebuild fences on ranches that were hit by Hurricane Ike more than six months ago. Through “Operation New Fences,” Commissioner Staples, state agency officials, local community leaders and volunteers distributed more than $100,000 worth of donated fence posts and barbed wire to nearly 100 ranchers in the Hurricane Ike surge zone in Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, Liberty and Orange counties. Each rancher received 250 fence posts and 10 rolls of barbed wire, enough to rebuild a half-mile of fence.

View a slideshow of Operation New Fences here:



“Seven months ago the skies were dark when Hurricane Ike ripped through this region, but today the true spirit of Texas is shining brightly,” Commissioner Staples said. “It is a tribute to our grand state to see these donors and volunteers helping their fellow Texans overcome adversity and build a new future one fence post at a time.“

Watch video of Operation New Fences here:



Commissioner Staples announced “Operation New Fences” last month after learning many ranchers were still leasing pastures for their livestock in other areas of the state because of a lack of resources to rebuild fences destroyed by Hurricane Ike. The Texas Department of Agriculture created a Web page specifically for this effort where producers could sign up for this one-time assistance.

“Operation New Fences” was a successful collaboration among TDA, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, M&J Fertilizer, Fellowship of Christian Farmers International, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Animal Health Commission and many industry associations, including the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Independent Cattlemen’s Association.


More about Hurricane Ike’s Impact on Rural Southeast Texas

Prior to Hurricane Ike’s landfall on Sept. 12, 2008, approximately 30,000 cattle roamed in Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, Liberty and Orange counties. Today, only about 7,000 are able to graze the land because of the lack of fences and the high salinity content of the soil. In the days following Hurricane Ike’s landfall, TDA participated in an emergency relief effort called “Operation No Fences” that resulted in the delivery of more than 9,000 hay bales, 165 tons of feed and 400 water troughs for ranchers who were unable to feed their cattle.

Texas Ag Commissioner Touts Healthy School Breakfasts

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples continued his campaign to remind children all across the great state of Texas about the importance of starting their day with a healthy, nutritious breakfast during National School Breakfast Week March. 2-6.

FOX 7 News interviewed Commissioner Staples live from Lucy Reed Pre-Kindergarten School to showcase the quality meals available all across Texas. More than one million students participate in the national School Breakfast Program every day in Texas.

You can watch the interview here:

Texas Dept. of Agriculture's Newsletter Now Online

The Texas Department of Agriculture’s quarterly newsletter, Texas Agriculture Today, is now available online and via email. The e-newsletter includes a column written by Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, along with the latest agriculture news and happenings at TDA, a commodity focus and news clips.


The Texas Agriculture Today Web site will serve as an online version of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s printed quarterly newsletter. In each issue, you’ll find a variety of news stories on agricultural topics that affect everyday life.

To have Texas Agriculture Today sent directly to your inbox, click here to subscribe. We will continue to circulate the regularly published version of the issue for those who still prefer the original hard copy.