In a brief interview on Fox News this morning, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R), repeated his warnings of Feb. 16, stating that Texas faces a food shortage in the midst of the devastating low temperatures and lack of energy infrastructure.
In his interview, Miller said that much of the blame for the crisis can be placed on the lack of leadership from the state’s political officials. “It was poor management … us Republicans run Texas, and it’s on our shoulders, we messed up!”
Miller issued an official warning on Feb. 16 about the emergency condition of agriculture in the state. It concluded with an urgent appeal: “Governor Abbott must make ag industries a priority for electricity and gas just like hospitals, first responders, fire and police. I salute all our hospital workers and first responders as they deal with this natural disaster, but they won’t have food to eat if our farmers are left without power.”
In his official warning (https://www.texasagriculture.gov/), he said, “I’m getting calls from farmers and ranchers across the state reporting that the interruptions in electricity and natural gas are having a devastating effect on their operations. In just one example, dairy operations are dumping $8 million worth of milk down the drains every day because the plants that process that milk don’t have power. Grocery stores are already unable to get shipments of dairy products. Store shelves are already empty. We’re looking at a food supply chain problem like we’ve never seen before, even with COVID-19.”
