Agricultural News
Noble Research Institute Authority on Feral Swine Testifies to Congress on the Spread of Wild Hogs
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 05:35:03 CST
Today, the House Agriculture Committee's Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the impact of wild, invasive, and non-native species on American agriculture. After the hearing, Subcommittee Ranking Member David Rouzer (NC-7) and Committee Ranking Member K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) released the following remarks:
"Invasive species present serious and wide-ranging threats to agriculture production across this country. In order to combat these pests, it's critical that we continue to improve our coordinated response and control efforts to minimize the impacts on production agriculture and ensure that we are able to remain good stewards of the land. We took steps to address these issues in the 2018 Farm Bill such as the establishment of the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, directing USDA to work with states and local stakeholders to fund targeted efforts to safeguard American agriculture from invasive species. This issue also gives us another reason to quickly ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, so that we can work in concert with our neighbors to quickly detect and eradicate invasive species," said Subcommittee Ranking Member Rouzer.
"I've seen first-hand the destruction caused by feral swine in Texas and across the country. I am proud that the 2018 Farm Bill established the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program to remove wild hogs and reduce the disastrous impacts they have on farmland. Funding is now available for projects in nine states, including Texas, to help communities control the feral swine population and restore land damaged by this devastating species," said Ranking Member Conaway.
One of the witnesses that appeared before the members of Congress was Josh Gaskamp of the Noble Research Institute out of Ardmore, Oklahoma. Gaskamp is regarded as one of the premiere authorities on feral swine in the south central part of the United States- and he told members of the Committee that the feral swine population is currently growing at an annual rate of 21% in the south central part of the US- and that this invasive species can be found in 37 states.
You can listen to Gaskamp's testimony by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
You can also reaad hi testimony by clicking on the PDF link at the bottom of this story.
Source: House Committee on Agriculture Republicans
04135_hhrg-116-ag29-wstate-gaskampj-20191114.pdf
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
