Charles Ray Huddleston, TGSA Director, Assumes Role of Sorghum Sector Chairman—Huddleston, from Celina, Texas will take over as chairman at the next USGC meeting in July. Retiring from the board of directors is Bill Kubecka of Palacious, Texas. Huddleston will serve as the sorghum industry’s direct link to the USGC board and will attend all regular board meetings as well as make known the needs of the sorghum industry in dealing with international markets. He has been involved with the US Grains Council for four years as well as serving on both the Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Association and Board. In addition, he has served as county chairman for Collin County Farm Bureau as well as a state director there.
Pecan Farmer wins Water Rights Case—It was a decade in the making but Hondo pecan farmer Glenn Bragg, of the famed Bragg v Edwards Aquifer case was awarded nearly $2.5 million dollars in missed revenue and interest. At the heart of the case was Bragg’s right to the water under his land as a “historic water rights” user. In petitioning the EAA (Edwards Aquifer Authority), the water district that supplies water to cities such as San Antonio, for access to the water under his land, the EAA denied him any access under one petition and limited the other petition to half of what he had asked for. This is the first instance of an individual suing a government entity for damages and winning. The supreme court refused to hear the case and perhaps has set a precedent for years to come as individual water rights come to the forefront of a battle between water hungry public water systems and the land owners that control the rights.
EPA Opens Comment Period on Worker Protection Rules—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened a comment period Tuesday, February 16, on draft “Guidelines for Human Exposure Assessment.” These proposed changes are of particular importance for pesticide workers and handlers as they would be subject to the new regulations beginning January 2017. Read more about potential new rules for agriculture in Delta Farm Press. Comments are due March 22, 2016. To submit a comment, follow this link: https://goo.gl/PnOa5J.
