Latest news with #TexasDepartmentofAgriculture
Daily Mail
01-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Rodeo Hall of Famer Roy Cooper dies in tragic house fire at 69 sending shockwaves through roping world
Rodeo legend Roy Cooper has reportedly died in a house fire at the age of 69. Cooper - affectionally nicknamed Super Looper - established himself as one of the most iconic figures in calf roping and professional rodeo, having been a trailblazing force in the sport. The news of his tragic death in Texas sent shockwaves through the rodeo world as tributes poured in from the mourning community. The ProRodeo Hall of Famer was found dead Tuesday night after his property in Decatur, Texas burnt down, according to reports from local media. Cooper is believed to have been the only body discovered at the scene. Emergency services reportedly responded to reports of the blaze shortly after 7pm ET with the large one-story home said to be engulfed in flames when the fire department crews arrived on the scene. Members of the rodeo community began paying tribute to the legend Wednesday morning. 'The rodeo community mourns a tremendous loss today with the passing of rodeo legend and Super Looper, Roy Cooper. Commissioner Sid Miller and his wife, Debra, are lifting the Cooper family up in prayer as they navigate this heartbreaking time,' the Texas Department of Agriculture wrote. 'Heartbroken to hear that Roy Cooper has passed, the Michael Jordan of calf roping, a true icon in and out of the arena,' one fan account shared. 'I grew up seeing him around town, always in awe. I'll never forget when he and George Strait stopped by the DQ where I worked, Texas legends in real life. Lifting prayers for comfort and peace to his family and loved ones. His legacy rides on.' 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cooper family after the tragic accident that took place tonight,' an Oklahoma rodeo group said. 'The rodeo world will forever mourn the loss of Roy.' 'Heartbroken to hear of the passing of Roy Cooper, an eight-time world champion calf roper and a true legend in the arena,' Andra Estes Beatty, a 2020 Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee, said. 'He inspired generations of cowboys and his legacy lives on. Praying for comfort and peace for his family during this time.' The New Mexico native qualified for his first National Finals Rodeo as a Rookie where he went on to be the World Champion in 1976. He went on to add seven more world titles to his collection throughout his illustrious career. The revolutionary roper was the PRCA Tie-Down World Champion in 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984. He was also the All-Around World Champion in 1983. Making it a triple crown that year, he was named the 1983 Steer Roping World Champion. Cooper, the son of champion roper Dale 'Tuffy' Cooper, started his career in the junior ranks of rodeo, earning several American Junior Rodeo Association championships including six All-Around cowboy titles. He then moved on to college rodeo for Southeastern Oklahoma State College where he was the 1975 NIRA Calf Roping Champion. Cooper leaves behind three sons, Tuf, Clif and Clint.
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Rodeo Hall of Famer Roy Cooper dies in tragic house fire at 69 sending shockwaves through roping world
Rodeo legend Roy Cooper has reportedly died in a house fire at the age of 69. Cooper - affectionally nicknamed Super Looper - established himself as one of the most iconic figures in calf roping and professional rodeo, having been a trailblazing force in the sport. The news of his tragic death in Texas sent shockwaves through the rodeo world as tributes poured in from the mourning community. The ProRodeo Hall of Famer was found dead Tuesday night after his property in Decatur, Texas burnt down, according to reports from local media. Cooper is believed to have been the only body discovered at the scene. Emergency services reportedly responded to reports of the blaze shortly after 7pm ET with the large one-story home said to be engulfed in flames when the fire department crews arrived on the scene. Members of the rodeo community began paying tribute to the legend Wednesday morning. 'The rodeo community mourns a tremendous loss today with the passing of rodeo legend and Super Looper, Roy Cooper. Commissioner Sid Miller and his wife, Debra, are lifting the Cooper family up in prayer as they navigate this heartbreaking time,' the Texas Department of Agriculture wrote. 'Heartbroken to hear that Roy Cooper has passed, the Michael Jordan of calf roping, a true icon in and out of the arena,' one fan account shared. 'I grew up seeing him around town, always in awe. I'll never forget when he and George Strait stopped by the DQ where I worked, Texas legends in real life. Lifting prayers for comfort and peace to his family and loved ones. His legacy rides on.' 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cooper family after the tragic accident that took place tonight,' an Oklahoma rodeo group said. 'The rodeo world will forever mourn the loss of Roy.' 'Heartbroken to hear of the passing of Roy Cooper, an eight-time world champion calf roper and a true legend in the arena,' Andra Estes Beatty, a 2020 Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee, said. 'He inspired generations of cowboys and his legacy lives on. Praying for comfort and peace for his family during this time.' The New Mexico native qualified for his first National Finals Rodeo as a Rookie where he went on to be the World Champion in 1976. He went on to add seven more world titles to his collection throughout his illustrious career. The revolutionary roper was the PRCA Tie-Down World Champion in 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984. He was also the All-Around World Champion in 1983. Making it a triple crown that year, he was named the 1983 Steer Roping World Champion. Cooper, the son of champion roper Dale 'Tuffy' Cooper, started his career in the junior ranks of rodeo, earning several American Junior Rodeo Association championships including six All-Around cowboy titles. He then moved on to college rodeo for Southeastern Oklahoma State College where he was the 1975 NIRA Calf Roping Champion. Cooper leaves behind three sons, Tuf, Clif and Clint.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas farmers could have greater access to low-interest loans under a bill the Senate is considering
LUFKIN — Texas farmers and ranchers may get a new lifeline from state lawmakers. The Texas House has approved a bill that expands one of the state's most successful loan programs for the agriculture industry. That legislation, House Bill 43, is now up for debate in the Senate. The relief can't come quickly enough, said state Rep. Stan Kitzman, a Pattison Republican and the bill's author. 'What House Bill 43 does is it makes funds available to help these producers hang on,' Kitzman said. 'It's not subsidies like the federal program. It takes an existing program that's already at the Texas Department of Agriculture — the Young Farmer program — and expands that.' If approved, the legislation expands options available through the Young Farmer Grant Program and Young Farmer Interest Rate Reduction Program. These programs were created to provide grants or low-interest loans to new farmers between the ages of 18 and 46. Changes to the interest rate reduction program would be to permit anyone in agriculture, of any age, to apply for loans up to $1 million at an interest rate of 2%. Currently, 18 to 46 year olds can only apply for $500,000 loans at a 5% interest rate. The age restrictions are also eliminated from the grant program. Under the bill, grantees could receive up to $500,000 while paying a 10% match. Currently, grantees can only receive $20,000 and have to match it 100%. Businesses essential to agriculture, like a cotton gin, would also now be eligible to apply. The state's agricultural industry has faced numerous hardships in recent years, and more uncertainty is on the horizon. Farmers and ranchers, among the largest economic drivers of the state, lost more than $14 billion to extreme weather events alone during the last three years, according to the Texas Farm Bureau. The federal government also has not upheld its end as far as support for agriculture as farmers have come to expect, Kitzman said. For instance, Congress has failed to update the nation's farming laws, which were set to expire last year. Only in a last-minute deal did they extend the status quo. Now there is worry about the lasting impact of President Donald Trump's trade war. In a state that took the reins on border security and water, Kitzman doesn't see why Texas can't do the same for farmers. 'If the feds can't take care of their business then maybe the state is going to have to show a little more initiative,' he said. While the bill expands the program to service more than just younger farmers, Kitzman doesn't want it to completely hedge them out, he said. An entire generation of farmers is preparing to retire without anyone to take their place and the Young Farmers program was originally designed to address that. But the problem is much larger than just succession planning. Between 2017 and 2022, nearly every state in the union lost farms, but Texas led the way with nearly 18,000 farm operations going under, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Dozens of East Texas counties, for example, watched as thousands of farms disappeared. Kitzman is worried about what will happen to the country if the U.S. has to import more of its food from other countries. 'Food security is national security. These people are protecting America by growing our food,' he said. 'When other people control your food supply, you're in a perilous place. History just shows that, over and over and over.' Rodney Schronk is a fifth-generation farmer whose son is getting ready to step up to the plate after graduating from Texas A&M University. Their family has grown cotton, corn, wheat, grain, sorghum and even the occasional sunflower on their land. But this has grown more and more difficult as time has passed and the agricultural environment changes. 'Agriculture in Texas is under direct attack,' Schronk said. 'Solar farms, commercial development and housing projects are destroying agriculture in Texas in a very large way.' Rather than helpful, he sees most moves by the Texas government as harmful to agriculture and worries about how that will impact his son as he prepares to take the helm. But HB 43 was refreshing to see, he said. The Young Farmers program was good to begin with, but Schronk sees nothing but good to come from expanding eligibility to include their partners in business. 'We need cotton gins,' Schronk said. 'We need warehouses to store our cotton. We need exporters that will ship our cotton and get it overseas to the markets. If we don't keep those in business, I can't grow cotton.' Several agriculture-based organizations and lobbyists have signaled support for the legislation. The Texas Farm Bureau, for example, considers HB 43 as a way to significantly improve the Young Farmer programs, according to spokesperson Gary Joiner. However, a House Research Organization bill analysis listed some concerns with the bill. It said unnamed critics believe the bill could: * Compromise business competition in the state * Require the state to provide significant funds to farmers who haven't adjusted their business models * Potentially harm the young farmers the program was originally designed to help HB 43 passed the House 132-16 on April 23. It was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs committee, chaired by Sen. Charles Perry, on April 24. The committee met on Monday, but did not discuss it. Disclosure: Texas A&M University and Texas Farm Bureau have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
New York Times
31-03-2025
- General
- New York Times
3 States Issue Warnings About Unsolicited Packages of Seeds
People in Alabama, Texas and New Mexico have reported receiving seeds in packages apparently sent from China, prompting officials in those states to warn residents not to plant them because the seeds could sprout into invasive plants. Unsolicited seed packets also arrived in mailboxes in many states in 2020, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture received thousands of reports of Americans receiving seeds in packages with Chinese characters. Federal investigators said the evidence indicated the packages sent in 2020 were part of a 'brushing scam' in which sellers mail inexpensive items to unsuspecting recipients and then post bogus customer reviews to boost online ratings and sales. There was no evidence the seeds were intended to harm American agriculture, officials said at the time. In recent months, seed packages have arrived in Alabama, Texas and New Mexico, according to officials in those states. The Texas Department of Agriculture said this month that it had collected 311 unsolicited seed packages from 64 locations, including the first instance of a live plant being mailed unsolicited to a Texas resident. The packages appeared to have come from China, based on their postmarks and Chinese characters on the packaging, according to Sid Miller, the Texas agriculture commissioner. They contained seeds for vegetables, weeds, grasses and at least one invasive aquatic plant, he said. While it was unclear whether the seeds were part of another brushing scam, the circumstances appeared to be similar to 2020, the Texas Agriculture Department said in a statement. Residents who receive unsolicited seeds should keep them sealed in their original packaging and contact agricultural officials, Mr. Miller said. 'We must stay vigilant and not assume that every package contains harmless plant material,' Mr. Miller said in a statement. 'Although many of these seeds are not listed as noxious plants by the federal government, they still pose a significant national biosecurity threat that should not be overlooked.' The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries has received six reports of unsolicited seeds arriving in the mail, a spokeswoman said on Monday. Some of the packages also appeared to have come from China, including at least one that said 'Made in China' on the pouch that contained the seeds. The seeds were identified as tomato and onion seeds and tested negative for harmful compounds, the department said. 'We urge all residents to be on the lookout for similar packages,' Rick Pate, Alabama's commissioner of agriculture and industries, said in a statement. 'These seeds may be invasive to Alabama plants or be harmful to livestock.' A spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture said it had received one report of a resident receiving a packet of unsolicited seeds. 'These unauthorized seed shipments violate state and federal law and pose serious risks to our agriculture and environment,' Katie Laney, a New Mexico agricultural official, said in a statement. 'Unknown seeds could introduce invasive species or plant diseases that threaten New Mexico's ecosystems and farming communities.' In 2020, federal investigators said that at least 14 of the seed varieties that were mailed to unsuspecting residents had been identified as a 'mix of ornamental fruit and vegetable, herb and weed species.' Among the plant species botanists identified were cabbage, hibiscus, lavender, mint, morning glory, mustard, rose, rosemary and sage, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 'It was nothing nefarious,' Osama El-Lissy, a former deputy administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, who was involved in tracking the seed packages in 2020, said in an interview on Monday. 'It was more of a business gimmick.' Still, Mr. El-Lissy said, the seeds posed a concern because they could have carried invasive pests — a point other experts also emphasized with the latest round of mysterious seeds. 'It's hard to know the real intent behind the seed packets, but in the past these have been tied to scams,' said David L. Ortega, an expert in agricultural economics and food policy at Michigan State University. People who receive the packages should be cautious but not alarmed, he said. 'The biggest thing is don't plant them — and contact your local or state-level agriculture office and let them be aware,' Dr. Ortega said.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
With crumbling public health infrastructure, rural Texas scrambles to respond to measles
Five years ago, Melanie Richburg used a roll of duct tape, a HEPA filter and a portable fan to draw contaminated air out of a hospital room where patients were tested for the coronavirus. Now, as the state's largest measles outbreak in three decades sickens an increasing number of Texans in the South Plains region, the Lynn County Hospital District, where Richburg serves as the chief executive officer, is still without specialized isolation rooms to treat patients. So, she's prepared to bring out the duct tape again. 'If we see the volume of patients exceeds the number of beds available at children's hospitals, we're going to need a contingency plan,' said Richburg, whose county is 30 miles south of Lubbock and has had two measles cases. 'The biggest struggle we have is the same struggle we had during COVID.' The coronavirus pandemic underscored the need for robust public health infrastructure. And it brought to light a remarkable urban-rural divide in access to basic health services. In the months after the virus ravaged the country, federal dollars flowed to local public health districts, and policies targeting health care deserts saw a renewed push. Yet as a disease that had been declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 makes a resurgence, rural West Texas communities and state officials are scrambling to respond. Aging infrastructure, a dearth of primary care providers and long distances between testing sites and laboratories plague much of rural Texas, where the measles outbreak has concentrated. At least 198 people in Texas have been infected with measles since late January, and one child has died from measles, the first such death in the country in a decade. More measles cases are expected, and the outbreak could last for months, state health services commissioner Jennifer Shuford told lawmakers last week. Though different from COVID in many ways, measles is similarly revealing how a lack of public health resources leaves rural communities vulnerable. What's left are local leaders forced to scrape together the few tools they have to respond to an emergency, contending with years of lackluster investment from the state and federal level to proactively prevent emerging public health threats. 'We're in a public health shortage area,' said Gordon Mattimoe, director of the Andrews County Health Department.' You have to think outside the box.' Some 64 Texas counties don't have a hospital, and 25 lack primary care physicians, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. Twenty-six rural Texas hospitals closed between 2010 and 2020, according to a rural hospital trade organization, and although closures slowed in the years since, those still standing are often in crumbling buildings with few medical providers. Swaths of Texas have scant resources for public awareness campaigns. And they lack sufficient medical staff with expertise to provide the one-on-one education needed to encourage vaccination and regular visits to the doctor. 'We have a difficult time in our area finding pediatricians for our newborns,' said Sara Safarzadeh Amiri, chief medical officer for Odessa Regional Medical Center and Scenic Mountain Medical Center. 'That's a problem. If you can't find a pediatrician, then when a serious question comes up, who do you ask?' Most of Texas' measles cases are in unvaccinated school-aged children and are concentrated in the Mennonite community in Gaines County. Cases have also been confirmed in eight other counties spanning Dallam near the Oklahoma border down to Ector, south of Gaines. To contain the illness, rural health care teams have cordoned off spaces to conduct measles testing, used social media to blast residents with information about vaccination efficacy and schlepped throat swabs across counties to ship them to a state lab in Austin — the only public state facility that was conducting measles testing until the Texas Tech University Bioterrorism Response Laboratory, part of a national network of CDC-funded labs, began measles testing last Monday. Testing is critical for measles, experts say, because infected individuals can be contagious for several days and must isolate themselves to avoid spreading it further. In Gaines County, runners have had to drive specimens up to 70 miles to get to a FedEx office where they could ship the specimen to the state laboratory. It could then take another 48 hours to get test results. During that time, public health officials would ask patients suspected of measles to quarantine — but they don't know if they followed through. 'Some people need the test to say 'I'm positive' before they actually do something or follow the directions given,' Amiri said. 'Having that testing available is very important.' In Andrews County, just south of Gaines, Mattimoe is using the old City Hall building as a testing site because he doesn't have a reverse pressure room. Those rooms prevent contagious diseases from spreading to other people, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends suspected measles patients are treated there when possible. In the absence of such spaces, rural counties including Lynn and Yoakum have improvised a room for measles testing, hoping they don't get overrun with more patients they can handle. Mattimoe, who said he is anticipating more cases, opted to open up City Hall for testing since that building happens to be vacant. WIthout it, Mattimoe said, he'd have to 'shut down the entire department for two hours between suspected cases.' Public health is based upon prevention, yet it's emergencies that spur the most action, particularly in rural communities. It was only after a school-aged child died from measles that state and federal support intensified. Twenty seven contractors were brought into the outbreak area last week to assist local health departments, Shuford, the state health services commissioner, said during a legislative hearing. A public awareness campaign with billboards and social media messaging was also launched. And, upon a request from the state, the federal CDC sent 'disease detectives' to West Texas. County officials also doubled down their efforts. In Ector County, County Judge Dustin Fawcett made media appearances to discuss the efficacy of the MMRV vaccine whose two doses provide 97% protection against measles. And the commissioners court approved the purchase of a $7,695 freezer to store measles test specimens — samples shipped after the date of collection must be kept at -70 degrees celsius. In Andrews County, residents stepped up their communal responsibilities. Mattimoe saw a surge of people coming into the clinic to get vaccinated. 'Unfortunately, the death of a child was one of the things that spurred many people to come in,' Mattimoe said. Even as state and federal officials are sharing more information on vaccines, experts say those campaigns needed to come sooner. They have known for years that vaccination rates have been declining. 'We shouldn't be doing it during an outbreak,' Amiri said. 'We should be doing it beforehand to prevent the outbreak.' Getting vaccines in residents is further complicated by the fact that Texas has a mostly decentralized system of public health. Cities and counties can stand up their own public health departments or districts, but the majority of rural counties can't afford to have their own. Instead, they rely on one of 11 public health regions. Those regions cover vast territories with limited dollars and don't always know the ins and outs of local communities, especially on how to motivate residents to get vaccinated. The logistical challenges of traveling across counties adds another layer of difficulty. 'You have to call these tiny towns and figure out who can give you space for free to set up a testing clinic,' Wells said. 'Then you're driving from Lubbock to rural areas and that cuts how long you can keep the clinics open.' And then, rural public health departments are having to contend with mixed messaging from the federal level as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, has cast vaccination as a personal choice while downplaying the news of the outbreak. 'I think with the changes that are occurring at the federal level, we need to realize that we do need to strengthen our local public health,' Amiri said. Years of underinvestment in public health left Texas ill prepared for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Hospital equipment was scarce, and state and local health departments had outdated technology that limited access to crucial data. The pandemic also exposed the rural-urban inequities in health care access. Residents of Texas counties without hospitals died from COVID-19 at 20% higher rates than residents of counties with hospitals, according to an analysis by the Austin American Statesman. An influx in federal funding helped shore up local public health departments and stave off more rural hospital closures. Texas received $35.5 million in grants for improvements in public health infrastructure in fiscal year 2020. An additional $221 million — the most of any state — is flowing to Texas through the CDC's five-year Public Health Infrastructure Grant. That funding has helped some local health departments address the measles outbreak, public health officials said. The Lubbock public health department has nearly doubled in size thanks to a $2 million grant. Those extra workers have been on the front lines of testing for measles and vaccinating children. 'It moved us from undersized to right sized,' said Katherine Wells, director of the city's public health department. 'It got us to the…health department we need for Lubbock.' In Andrews County, Mattimoe has also used grant dollars to grow his health department. Four new employees, including an epidemiologist and a social worker, have helped the county complete a population health assessment that offers a snapshot of residents' needs. And its year-round vaccine clinics have helped stave off the worst of the measles outbreak. 'Community immunity has really saved us,' Mattimoe said. 'There will be a case eventually, but there's something to be said about herd immunity.' Andrews County does not have any confirmed measles cases as of Friday. The influx of dollars that rural communities received during the height of the pandemic showed the meaningful changes that officials could do with more support, but it still hasn't been enough. Texas spends less on public health per person than the vast majority of other states, according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, whose analysis shows Texas spent $17 per person on public health in 2023. A decade earlier, the spend was $19. The low levels of state funding particularly hurt rural communities that have higher rates of uninsured Texans and more senior citizens with greater health needs, according to the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals. Deteriorating buildings and the shortage of medical professionals still persist in rural areas, while lower volumes of patients means higher health care operational costs. In Lynn County, Richburg, the CEO of the health district, had hoped the makeshift contraption she made during COVID for a reverse pressure room wouldn't be needed again in her rural community of 5,500 people. She attempted to pass a bond last year to pay for infrastructure upgrades, including a mini intensive care unit with four negative pressure rooms. Voters rejected the proposed tax increase, though, a gut punch to Richburg. 'We wanted those four specific beds so that when we had situations where we needed to isolate patients, they'd be adequately cared for and not in a room with a broken window with a fan duct taped in it,' she said. In addition to isolation rooms, Lynn County's health care system is due for a major electrical upgrade, Richburg said. The facility's backup power generator doesn't cover the MRI machine or the CAT scan. In the meantime, Richburg and her staff plan to do their best with what they have. 'We're still here, the lights still come on every morning, and patients still come in for services,' Richburg said. 'We're not going away.' Disclosure: Texas Tech University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. 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