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The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is a state agency within the state of Texas, which is responsible for matters pertaining to agriculture, rural community affairs, and related matters. It is currently headed by Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, who was reelected to a 3rd term in 2022.

History

TDA was established by the 13th Texas Legislature in 1907. TDA is headed by the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, one of four heads of state agencies which is elected by statewide ballot (and the only one where the provision for statewide election is mandated by legislative action, not enshrined in the Texas Constitution) for a four-year term, concurrent with the gubernatorial election (prior to 1978, the term was two years before a statewide amendment in 1974 extended it to four years). John C. White is the longest-serving Agriculture Commissioner in Texas history, with 26 years of service (1951–1977).

The department is headquartered on the 11th floor of the Stephen F. Austin State Office Building at 1700 North Congress Avenue in Austin.

The mission statement of the Texas Department of Agriculture is: "Partner with all Texans to make Texas the nation's leader in agriculture, fortify our economy, empower rural communities, promote healthy lifestyles, and cultivate winning strategies for rural, suburban and urban Texas through exceptional service and the common threads of agriculture in our daily lives."

In April 2023, the DoA implemented a policy mandating that employees dress according to their “biological gender”, with punishments for noncompliance ranging up to and including termination. This policy was widely criticized as part of the Texas state government’s wider range of policies targeting transgender people.

Commissioners of the Texas Department of Agriculture

Milner was appointed as Commissioner prior to the first statewide election in 1908.

Image	Commissioner	Beginning Term Year	Ending Term Year
	Robert Teague Milner	1907	1908
	Edward Reeves Kone	1908	1914
	Fred Davis	1915	1920
	George B. Terrell	1921	1930
	James E. McDonald	1931	1950
	John C. White	1951	1977
	Reagan V. Brown	1977	1982
	Jim Hightower	1983	1990
	Rick Perry	1991	1998
	Susan Combs	1999	2006
	Todd Staples	2007	2015
	Sid Miller	2015

Divisions

The department is divided into the following divisions:

• Administrative Services—Provides TDA support functions
• Communications—Provides media information, public information and TDA internal support services
• Financial Services—Provides TDA accounting, budgetary, and purchasing functions
• Food and Nutrition—Administers the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s School Lunch, School Breakfast, Summer and After School Snack Programs in Texas public schools, including technical assistance and training to school district child nutrition professionals to help them stay abreast of state and federal policies, as well as processing of reimbursements to schools participating in the Child Nutrition Programs
• Legal Affairs—Responsible for providing legal services and counsel to all TDA programs and divisions. Legal Affairs is also responsible for enforcement of the department's regulatory functions, including prosecutions and settlements, and is the liaison with the Texas Attorney General
• Office of Policy and External Relations—Provides support to the Commissioner and the agency by monitoring and analyzing federal and state legislative and regulatory activities that affect Texas Agricultural producers and consumers as well as studying issues that affect rural Texas; also responsible for the management of several TDA grants including the Texas Israel Exchange Program, the Urban School Agricultural Grant Program, the Surplus Food Grant Program, Enology/Viticulture Research Grants, the Leon River Restoration Project Grant and the Feral Hog Damage Abatement Program
• Marketing and Promotion—Works to increase the sales of both raw and processed Texas agricultural commodities by promoting Texas food, fiber, wine, livestock, horticulture and forestry products under the GO TEXAN campaign
• Pesticide Programs—TDA is designated as the state’s lead agency in the regulation of pesticide use and application. The division is responsible for licensing and training pesticide applicators, overseeing worker protection, registering pesticides for sale in the state and working to minimize unnecessary impacts to agriculture while enhancing protection of endangered and threatened species as mandated by the federal law
• Regulatory Programs—TDA has a strong consumer protection program, which includes overseeing items like grocery store scales, egg quality, nursery products and gasoline pumps. TDA regularly works with producers to ensure they receive quality seed. This division also ensures the accuracy of weights and measures and protects against the movement of harmful pests into Texas
• Rural Economic Development—Assists rural communities and businesses to create and retain jobs through business development and community assistance, and through the GO TEXAN Rural Community Program, the division promotes agricultural diversification, small town revitalization and rural tourism

References

1. Barragán, James (2021-06-21). "Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller running for reelection, instead of challenging Gov. Greg Abbott". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
2. "Contact Us." Texas Department of Agriculture. Retrieved on March 13, 2009.
3. "HR Directors Archived 2009-02-18 at the Wayback Machine." State of Texas Classification. Retrieved on March 13, 2009.
4. "Texas agriculture commissioner orders employees to wear clothes "consistent with their biological gender"". NBC.
5. "AG COMMISSIONER SID MILLER'S NEW TRANSPHOBIC DRESS CODE". The Texas Observer.
6. "Administrative Services". texasagriculture.gov.
7. "Communications". texasagriculture.gov.
8. "Financial Services". texasagriculture.gov.
9. "Home". www.squaremeals.org.
10. "Legal Services". texasagriculture.gov.
11. "External Relations". texasagriculture.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23.
12. "Home". www.gotexan.org.
13. "Pesticide". texasagriculture.gov.
14. "Regulatory Programs". texasagriculture.gov.
15. "Rural Economic Development". texasagriculture.gov.

External links

• Texas Department of Agriculture

v t e Texas state agencies
Executive	Dept. of Agriculture Alcoholic Beverage Commission Animal Health Commission Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Attorney General School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Brazos River Authority State Cemetery Comptroller of Public Accounts Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner School for the Deaf Board of Dental Examiners Commission on Environmental Quality Education Agency Employees Retirement System Ethics Commission Facilities Commission Dept. of Family and Protective Services Film Commission Forest Service Office of the Governor Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Health and Human Services Commission Dept. of State Health Services Higher Education Coordinating Board Historical Commission Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs Dept. of Information Resources Dept. of Insurance Commission on Jail Standards General Land Office Library and Archives Commission Dept. of Licensing and Regulation Lottery Commission Lower Colorado River Authority Dept. of Motor Vehicles Dept. of Parks and Wildlife Preservation Board Space Commission Dept. of Public Safety Railroad Commission Real Estate Commission Residential Construction Commission Soil and Water Conservation Board Teacher Retirement System Texas A&M University System Dept. of Transportation Trinity River Authority University of Houston System University of North Texas System University of Texas System Texas State University System Texas Tech University System Workforce Commission Juvenile Justice Department
Legislative	House of Representatives Senate
Judicial	Courts of Appeals Court of Criminal Appeals Dept. of Criminal Justice State Bar Supreme Court Office of Court Administration/Texas Judicial Council Office of Capital and Forensic Writs State Prosecuting Attorney State Law Library State Commission on Judicial Conduct

v t e Statewide political officials of Texas
U.S. senators	John Cornyn Ted Cruz
State government	Greg Abbott, Governor Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor Jane Nelson, Secretary of State (appointed) Ken Paxton, Attorney General Glenn Hegar, Comptroller Dawn Buckingham, Land Commissioner Sid Miller, Agriculture Commissioner Wayne Christian, Christi Craddick, Jim Wright, Railroad Commissioners
Senate	Dan Patrick, President Charles Schwertner, President pro tempore Angela Paxton, Majority Leader Carol Alvarado, Minority Leader
House	Dade Phelan, Speaker Charlie Geren, Speaker pro tempore Tom Oliverson, Majority Leader Trey Martinez Fischer, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Nathan Hecht, Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock Debra Lehrmann John P. Devine Rebeca Huddle Jane Bland Jeffrey S. Boyd J. Brett Busby Evan Young
Court of Criminal Appeals	Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge Mary Lou Keel Bert Richardson Kevin Yeary Scott Walker Jesse McClure Barbara Hervey Michelle Slaughter David Newell

• State agencies of Texas
• Agriculture in Texas
• State departments of agriculture of the United States
• 1907 establishments in Texas
• Government agencies established in 1907