Latest news with #Gauger
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
THC ban will destroy Texas' hemp agriculture industry, farmers say
LUBBOCK — Six years ago, Texas lawmakers opened a door to a new lifeline for farmers: growing hemp. Farmers invested time, money and land into growing the drought-resistant crop and developing the state's budding hemp industry. The same lawmakers are now slamming the door shut. All products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, could soon be banned in Texas. As a result, farmers are bracing for impact as they wait to go out of business. 'We wouldn't be in the hemp business in a million years if they hadn't passed that bill,' said Ann Gauger, co-owner of Caprock Family Farms in Lubbock. 'Now we're one of the largest hemp producers in the U.S., and their ban is going to shut that down.' The Texas hemp industry, in its current form, has effectively been handed a death sentence with the upcoming passage of Senate Bill 3, authored by Lubbock Republican Sen. Charles Perry. On Sunday, the Legislature sent the bill, which bans consumable hemp products that contain even trace amounts of THC, to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. However, hemp can't be produced without traces of THC, farmers say, regardless of the product. The plant has been a target for lawmakers since the start of the legislative session, with the charge led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Patrick pulled out all the stops to make the ban pass, including with surprise visits to dispensaries in Austin and vows for a special session if it failed. Patrick and Perry say the hemp industry exploited a loophole in the bill that did not establish a threshold for hemp derivatives, other than delta-9 THC. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has also walked back his opposition to an outright ban on THC, now aligning with Patrick's position. He deleted a post on X where he called the THC ban a 'sledgehammer' to farmers, and now Miller said the bill will not be detrimental to farmers. Miller said the hemp industry will thrive as it's moving toward producing industrial hemp, a fiber type of hemp that does not contain THC. It could be used in construction materials, rope and more. He said they never intended to have THC available across Texas, and called it a dangerous situation. 'This just puts us back to where we started,' Miller told The Texas Tribune. 'It's going to be detrimental to a lot of businesses that have opened their business model on selling THC products. Those businesses will have to shut.' In lawmakers' pursuit of a ban, growers like Gauger were caught in the crosshairs. Gauger, who runs the business with her husband and two sons, felt ignored by most of the Legislaturestate leaders. Gauger says they did everything they could to get lawmakers to hear them over the last few months and testified to the House committee overseeing the bill. It did not work. 'Charles Perry says he has an open door policy. That is an absolute lie,' Gauger said. 'We live in his district, and he will not see us. We've gone to his office in Austin, but he refuses to see us.' Gauger said House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and his team were the only ones to speak with the family. Kyle Bingham is another frustrated hemp grower in the South Plains that took a chance on growing the crop. Bingham, who is also president of the Texas Hemp Growers Association, called the bill overreaching and unenforceable. He also said lawmakers involved in writing the bill ignored farmers during the process. Bingham is one of Perry's constituents. 'We were left out of this conversation,' Bingham said. 'Yes, you can go to public hearings, but not having a lot of say and being stonewalled out of the initial bills was frustrating.' Throughout the session, Patrick has rallied against THC products, saying the products put children in danger. Gauger acknowledges there are bad actors in the industry, but says the bill will have a ripple effect. The industry also includes manufacturers, hemp processors, and people to run extractors. 'Throw the low lifes in jail if you want to stop the bad actors,' Gauger said. 'But don't take out the American farmers. Don't take out the ag producers.' Under the legislation, adults would face up to a year in jail for possessing hemp products with any amount of THC in it. This has put a stop to all of Gauger's plans — the family farm was set to plant a large project that would produce 20 million pounds of CBD biomass. Since CBD is produced from hemp seeds, Gauger is worried she would be breaking the law. It wouldn't be ready for harvest until October, a month after the law goes into effect. 'We would be felons if we planted that,' Gauger said. 'The land's already been prepped, herbicides already put out. Once you do that, you can't plant anything else on that land for the season.' Bingham is in a similar position. He uses about 5% of his 2,000-acre farm for hemp, but he saw it as a good alternative in the drought-ridden region. Now, he says he has to walk away from his investment if it's illegal to possess any detectable amounts of THC in the field. 'At this point, they're threatening a felony so I'm out,' Bingham said. 'I'm not risking a felony over this, and I think most farmers in Texas will stop growing too.' Bingham said he's now considering what to do in September when the bill is slated to go into effect. Any products he still has with THC will either have to be sold by then or he will be burning it. He's going to focus more on cotton and wheat, even though he wanted hemp to be in their rotation of crops. Gauger is expecting a downfall for the hemp industry across Texas. Just like growers have to consider the legal consequences, the same applies for retailers and grocery stores that sell consumable hemp products. This includes hemp hearts, hemp seed oil, and even some big brands — KIND bars have a line of granola bars that contain hemp seeds. Perry's team did not respond to a request to comment. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Iowa State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at the front lines of battle against Avian Influenza
AMES, Iowa – The newer multi-million dollar Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Iowa State University is at the front lines of the battle against Avian Influenza. 'At the height of our testing, it could be up to 1,000 to 3,000 tests per week,' said Dr. Phillip Gauger, who oversees molecular diagnostics. Testing for bird flu is ramped up after an outbreak and activates a back-up plan that includes longer hours with some staff members placed on-call over weekends. It is a scenario that is tacked on top of the additional diagnostic work the lab does for other animal diseases while serving Iowa, several other states and even a few countries. 'The pressure that comes is just the increased volume of testing that we need to do,' Dr. Gauger told reporter Katie Kaplan. 'And then on top of that, the test turnaround time has to be very quick.' According to Dr. Gauger, the work they do on animal samples is the first step toward protecting humans. 'The lab is very important to the public because of our ability to supply a multitude of tests for pathogens that affect our production animal species, which affects our food supply,' he said. The lab employs roughly 150 people. Phase one of the multi-million dollar facility opened up roughly a year ago. Phase two is under construction and is projected to open in 2026, according to the University. Samples can be dropped off in person at the lab, or sent in via UPS. They are then inventoried and paired down into vials or smaller containers before being sent to specialty departments for testing. Results are often available the next day. The lab made national headlines when it was the first to discover the avian flu in a herd of dairy cows, said Gauger. The result came after a sample had been sent in from a farm in Texas. Meanwhile, in the offices located on the floor just above the lab, other experts work on battling the virus from a different angle. 'There's kind of different levels of biosecurity,' said Dr. Yuko Sato. 'How I explain it is basically keeping the outside out and keeping the inside in.' Sato is a professor, poultry extension veterinarian and diagnostic pathologist for the university. She said a lot of her time is spent on 'education outreach' and trying to help people understand the virus. That includes teaching Iowa farmers the best practices for protecting their livestock. Because the virus is highly contagious, biosecurity measures for farmers include stocking up on sanitation materials and wearing the PPE gear that became so recognizable during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palm Beach County sheriff candidate Lauro Diaz fined for failing to disclose $1 million in assets
The Florida Commission on Ethics has levied a $500 fine against Lauro Diaz, a Republican candidate in last year's county sheriff election, for failing to disclose more than $1 million in assets on his campaign finance statement. The commission acted on a complaint filed by John Saroka of Wellington who pointed out that a filing by Diaz listed his net assets at $1.4 million while Diaz only listed assets of $338,000 — $138,000 in household goods and personal effects, $50,000 in cash and $150,000 in income from the Florida Retirement System. State law requires assets greater than $1,000 to be included. Saroka acknowledged to the commission that he came across the Diaz discrepancies while doing research for Michael Gauger, a Republican who defeated Diaz in the GOP primary. The complaint resulted in the state Ethics Commission charging Diaz with filing an inaccurate report; and the commission deciding to impose the $500 fine for violating the ethics code. Diaz did not challenge the ruling or dispute the finding that he violated state campaign finance laws. At issue was the Form 6, filed with the state agency, that requires all candidates seeking elected office or holding office to reveal their net worth, and to itemize their income and liabilities. Diaz was involved in a bitter primary battle with Gauger. Republican Diaz subsequently endorsed Democrat Sheriff Ric Bradshaw in the general election. Bradshaw was reelected in November by 15 points, defeating Gauger. In 2020, Diaz, as the Republican candidate, was soundly defeated by Bradshaw. Diaz told The Post last year that he found out about the Saroka complaint from The Palm Beach Post, noting that his report was accepted the way it was presented, and questioned why that would be if it was filed incorrectly. But following the state Ethics Commission investigation, Diaz admitted he failed to include the value of two houses he owns in Florida — one in Lake Placid and another in Loxahatchee. That accounted for the $1.1 million discrepancy. Saroka filed the complaint against Diaz shortly before the Republican primary. Gauger defeated Diaz by eight percentage points but the win was due to a strong showing by Gauger on vote-by-mail ballots. Diaz, as part of the settlement with the state Ethics Commission, agreed to ensure that future reports, should he again seek elected office, will be filed accurately. Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@ Help support local journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida sheriff candidate fined for failing to disclose $1M in assets
