The Ranchers and Landowners Association of Texas (RLAT) met on Saturday, February 15 at the BEC Community Room to listen to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and retired firefighter Eric Kellman as well as hold their annual meeting.
Miller started off the program by outlining the duties of the Agriculture Department. Not only does the department oversee agricultural production, but it also works to monitor twelve food and nutrition programs that serve five million school children with $300 million dollars of locally grown products.
The Department of Agriculture also promotes Texas produced products in 34 countries around the world.
Miller noted that water concerns have been one of the ongoing areas that he had hoped for help with in the current legislative session.
While he expressed concern about the state legislature’s failure to act on the development of water resources, he stated that he had “high hopes” for the current legislative session – noting that the state’s production of fruits, vegetables, and other crops has dropped significantly due to the lack of water.
Commissioner Miller related that huge strides in new funding for the replacement of critical water infrastructure, as well as other kinds of water resources development like rainwater capture/harvest, and desalinization were important areas to focus on.
Don Phillips, President of RLAT, stated, “We are so fortunate, in this legislative year, to have our Commissioner of Agriculture take the time to address our community on issues that impact us all. An opportunity like this doesn’t come around very often and we thank Commissioner Miller for being with us.”
Retired Houston firefighter spoke about Emergency Services Districts. He addressed four major areas in his presentation. He detailed the job of an ESD, and how they are formed and funded. He talked about how they are structured and why they are important in rural areas. Kellmann stated that ESD’s can and do address critical resource issues for rural emergency services.
Emergency Services Districts fund and deliver emergency services like fire protection and EMS services by providing them directly or contracting with another agency to do so.
They are established through a public vote and governed by a board of commissioners. They can raise revenue through property taxes and sales tax within district boundaries. This organization is used primarily in Texas where they are considered a method of providing emergency services in rural areas.
The annual RLAT members’ meeting finished out the day. RLAT member Orlando Stephenson won a $100 gift card for attending the meeting.
The Association works to address the concerns of its members for property owners’ rights concerning water, land use restrictions and legislative issues. It also works with law enforcement in property protection, poaching, trespassing, livestock and game protection and criminal prosecution of offenders.
RLAT offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person who commits crimes against its members agricultural property, livestock or wildlife. It also supports youth programs that focus on agricultural and scholastic achievements, good citizenship, and gun/hunting safety.
Further information on RLAT can be found on its website at: www.rlatx.org.
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