If you were following the news about Governor Abbott vetoing a string of Senate bills as part of his escalating fight with the Lieutenant Governor over property taxes, you will understand why we here at FARFA were biting our nails all through the weekend!

Fortunately, SB 691, our meat shares bill, survived, and this door-opening law will go into effect on September 1, 2023.

Thank you again for your hard work! Our new law will improve the opportunities for hundreds of small-scale and regenerative farms using livestock across the state, and strengthens the case for other states to do the same!

What next?

A "how-to" guidebook for members - Over the summer, FARFA will develop guidance for farmers and consumers about how to make use of the new options created by SB 691.  We’ll offer those materials as an ongoing membership benefit to members at the Farmer level and above – another good reason for you to join, on top of supporting the work we do to get important reforms like this passed!

An info and strategy session at August Conference - We will also be bringing together farmers and processors to talk about how to work together to maximize the impact of this new law, at a session at our annual conference. You can see more about the great topics at the conference (and register while early bird rates are still in effect) here.

Working on national improvements - And we are turning our attention to the federal level, working to get the PRIME Act into the Farm Bill to allow farmers to simply sell meat by the cut after custom processing.  We are also working on other reforms to support small farmers, regenerative ranchers, and local food producers.  Watch for updates and action alerts through the summer!