Texas Department of Agriculture

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.

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): having been elected in 1950 and reelected in 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972 and again in 1974.

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

List of agriculture ministries

An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister for agriculture.

Specific duties may relate to regulation, promotion, agricultural research, price supports and agricultural subsidies, plant diseases and invasive species. Some countries have multiple agriculture ministries, devoting entire ministries to more specific policy areas such as forestry and fisheries; rural affairs; food and food quality, security, and safety; consumer protection; and matters relating to the environment.

Agriculture ministries by country

See also

External links

Department of Agriculture (Sri Lanka)

The Department of Agriculture (DOA) functions under the Ministry of Agriculture of Government of Sri Lanka is one of the largest government departments with a high profile community of agricultural scientists and a network of institutions covering different agro ecological regions island wide. DOA focuses on maintaining and increasing productivity and production of the food crops in the country. Two Agriculture parks functions under the department.

Main Functions

Management Structure

The Management structure of DOA consists of three research institutes:

and six technical service centers:

Department of Agriculture (New Brunswick)

The Department of Agriculture was a department in the Government of New Brunswick, Canada. It was responsible for management of the Province's Agriculture industries. The member of the Executive Council responsible for the departmenmt was initially called the Commissioner of Agriculture. The department would become known as the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the late 1990s.

From 1882, the Department of Agriculture was also responsible for fisheries until 1963 when the government of Premier Louis Robichaud created a separate Department of Fisheries. This department would be renamed the Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture which in 2000 was merged with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to become the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture. This department lasted until October 3, 2006 when Premier Shawn Graham split the departments into the Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture and reestablished the separate Department of Fisheries.

Texas

Texas /ˈtɛksəs/ (Spanish: Texas or Tejas [ˈtexas]) is a state in the United States of America. It is the second most populous and second largest state by area in the US. Geographically located in the south central part of the country, Texas shares an international border with Mexico to the south and borders the states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²) and a growing population of over 27.5 million residents (July 2015).

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest United States metropolitan statistical areas, respectively. Other major cities include Austin (the state capital) and El Paso. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texan state flag and on the Texan state seal. The origin of the state name, Texas, is from the word, "Tejas", which means 'friends' in the Caddo language.

The Texas (locomotive)

Western & Atlantic Railroad #49 "Texas" is a 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive built in 1856 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad by Danforth, Cooke & Co.. The Texas is widely known for being involved in the Great Locomotive Chase during the American Civil War as the engine that successfully pursued the General locomotive after it was stolen by Union saboteurs in an attempt to ruin the Confederate rail system. The locomotive is currently preserved at the Atlanta Cyclorama building within Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It will be restored and relocated to the Atlanta History Center in 2016.

Antebellum

The Texas was built in October 1856 for the Western & Atlantic Railroad by locomotive manufacturer Danforth, Cooke and Company in Paterson, New Jersey. It was subsequently shipped from Paterson to the Port of Savannah, traveled the Georgia Rail Road & Banking Company and Macon & Western Railroad, before finally being delivered to the W&A headquarters in Atlanta that same year.

Texas Homecare

Texas Homecare was a chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, that operated from 1972 until 1999.

History

Texas Homecare was established in 1972, by Manny, Sydney and Gerald Fogel, who had previously founded the high street specialist paint and wallpaper chain Home Charm. Taking their lead from America, they revolutionised the United Kingdom DIY market, with the introduction of the 'DIY shed' style outlet. Mervyn Fogel, co-founder and managing director for over 25 years, had a vision of turning the small family business into a DIY retail empire.

Texas specialised in higher volume, lower margin DIY products. The company had been adversely affected, by a recession and depressed housing market.

Acquisition

With its acquisition, Homebase hoped to hold around 10% of the total DIY market in the United Kingdom. In May 1995, it was announced that only 26 Texas stores were to close, with limited redundancies. Sainsbury's found that full conversion to the Homebase format was an investment worth making, and allowed £50 million for the task.