Congress carves out $-unspecified conservation fund for 38 Texas counties.
H.R. 389 — Southern Border Farmers and Ranchers Protection Act · Filed by Mónica De La Cruz (R-TX) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 14, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill amends the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) under the Food Security Act to authorize direct payments to farmers and ranchers in 38 named counties along Texas's southern border to repair agricultural damage and infrastructure. The program offers 1-year contracts and targets land affected by natural resource concerns, with no stated funding cap or eligibility limits beyond geography.
Why we flagged it
The bill creates a new, geographically limited payment stream within an existing conservation program. While framed as addressing border-region agricultural damage, the mechanism is a direct federal subsidy to producers in 38 named Texas counties, with no comparable authorization for other regions facing similar conservation challenges.
What the text implies
- No funding cap or appropriation is stated in the bill; the cost to the federal government depends entirely on how many producers apply and what damage-repair costs are approved by the Secretary.
- The 1-year contract term is unusually short for conservation programs, which typically run 3–10 years; this may indicate temporary emergency relief or a pilot, but the bill does not explain the rationale.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
farmers and ranchers in 38 named Texas counties; agricultural equipment and conservation service providers (indirect)