A generation of Texas farmers are retiring. It’s not clear who will replace them.
After 70 years on the farm, Jimmy Drake retired from the cotton business. With no family stepping up to take over the farm, he turned to a young neighbor. Full Story
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![From left, Tanner Heffington talks to Jimmy Drake next to Drake’s truck outside of their shop. Drake passed on his farm and equipment to long time neighbor Heffington last year making this the first time in 71 years that a member of the Drake family didn’t harvest the land.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Texas agency renounces workplace training that mentioned gender identity definitions
The Texas Department of Agriculture’s elected leader, Sid Miller, has fought protections for trans workers. Full Story
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![Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller speaks to a crowd gathered in front of the Governor’s Mansion to protest statewide business closures and mask mandates, on Oct. 10, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes bill limiting farmland sales to China, other countries
The amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries. Full Story
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![Attendees in opposition to SB 147 hold signs during a press conference in opposition to Senate Bill 147 outside of City Hall on Jan. 23, 2023, in downtown Houston.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas agriculture commissioner orders employees to wear clothes “consistent with their biological gender”
The policy comes as LGBTQ advocates are fighting a wave of hostile legislation at the Capitol, including proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender children. Full Story
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![Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller speaks to reporters at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to ban Chinese citizens and government from buying Texas land gains steam among Republicans
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst filed a bill that would ban citizens, governments and entities from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing land in the state, part of what she and other Republicans have said will help stem foreign influence in Texas. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, speaks from her desk on the Senate floor on May 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans show mix of enthusiasm and reticence toward Trump’s run for president
Gov. Greg Abbott, who Trump endorsed for his reelection, has not commented about the former president’s announcement to run for the White House a third time. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Conroe on January 29, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Sid Miller declares victory in Texas agriculture commissioner race
Securing a third term with strong support across rural Texas, the Republican pledged to expand medical use of cannabis and funding for rural health care. Full Story
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![Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller onstage on the final day of the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio on June 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Both have deep Texas roots, but Sid Miller and Susan Hays offer stark contrast in fight for ag commissioner
The state’s agriculture commissioner oversees a vast portfolio including farming and ranching, rural health care and the scales you use at grocery store checkout. Full Story
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![Susan Hays campaign website/Juan Figueroa for The Texas Tribune]()
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How the debunked conspiracy film “2000 Mules” became Texas Republican orthodoxy
Watchdog groups fear the film will fuel chaos in the upcoming midterm elections and could be a pretext for more restrictive voting laws in the future. Full Story
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![From left: Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Comptroller, railroad commissioner, lieutenant governor: What do Texas state officials actually do?
For example, members of the Railroad Commission don’t deal with railroads. Here’s what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them. Full Story
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![A graphic that reads, "Texas Office Glossary" above a collection of voting stickers.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht for the Texas Tribune -
Predicting food shortages, Sid Miller calls on Gov. Greg Abbott to stop new vehicle inspections at the border
Abbott’s new policy has resulted in hourslong delays and protester blockades at border crossings. The state’s agriculture commissioner criticized the measure as an “economy killing action.” Full Story
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![A fruit and vegetable distribution center in Pharr, TX. April 11, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Sid Miller wins Republican primary for Texas agriculture commissioner
The incumbent avoided a runoff. State Rep. James White had tried to unseat Miller with criticisms centered on controversies under Miller’s leadership. Full Story
![Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller speaks to a crowd gathered in front of the Governor’s Mansion to protest statewide business closures and mask mandates, on Oct. 10, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Trump’s man in Texas, has quietly amassed influence — to the detriment of fellow Republicans
Patrick urged former Gov. Rick Perry to mount a challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a third term. He’s taken the already considerable power concentrated in the state’s No. 2 job to another level, forcing opponents from races and tightening his grip on the Senate. Full Story
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Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s challengers take aim at his ethics, relationship to indicted political aide
Miller’s top challenger is state Rep. James White, a Hillister rancher, who is running a hard-charging campaign calling out the incumbent for creating a scandal-prone culture at the commission. Full Story
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![Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller speaks at a Trump rally in Conroe on Jan. 29, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: March primaries in Texas lead to November — some with a stop in May
Early voting starts on Monday, and the primaries are on March 1. But some recent polling foreshadows May runoffs for some offices high on the Texas ballot. Full Story
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![A voter casts their ballot in the gymnasium at St. Edwards University to cast their ballot on Election Day 2020. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans trumpet their support for another Trump presidential bid at Conroe rally
The rally in the Houston suburbs put on full display how much of a grip former President Donald Trump still has on Texas Republican leaders. Full Story
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![People attend a rally where former U.S. President Donald Trump is to speak, in Conroe on Jan. 29, 2022.]()
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Analysis: For a few Texas politicians, a bad time for bad news
For three of the state’s most experienced politicians, bad news comes with the territory. But bad news in the critical stages of an election is another, more serious, kind of trouble. Full Story
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![Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-TX, talks with supporters at an event featuring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at his campaign headquarters in Laredo on Feb. 22, 2020.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Black Texas farmers were finally on track to get federal aid. The state’s agriculture commissioner wants to stop that.
Sid Miller is challenging a debt relief program that the U.S. Department of Agriculture saw as a way to correct historic discrimination. An advocate for Black Texas farmers says the challenge “pushes us back even further.” Full Story
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Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s political consultant indicted on charges of theft, bribery in hemp license scheme
Attorneys for Smith said he has not broken any laws. Miller, who is seeking reelection and facing a competitive primary, said Tuesday evening he's "not ready to throw [Smith] under the bus" and believes the indictment was politically motivated. Full Story
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![Todd Smith.]()
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State Rep. James White announces primary challenge to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller
Miller is running for a third term. Full Story
![Rep. James White, R-Hillister, speaks at the Women's [In]Justice Day rally on the south steps of the Capitol on March 8, 2019.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/QS6lPNOLq4rH6nnluM-VwuzAVRU=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/73f9792e693faec14bc3e1bdfc12c237/06%20Women%20Prisons%20March%20TT%20MG.jpg)
![Rep. James White, R-Hillister, speaks at the Women's [In]Justice Day rally on the south steps of the Capitol on March 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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