FY2024

Texas Department of Agriculture
Agriculture and Consumer Protection Division

Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plan (FINAL)
Fiscal Year 2024
Executive Summary
The Agricultural and Consumer Protection Division (ACP) of the Texas Department of
Agriculture (TDA or the Department) licenses a wide range of stakeholders – pest
control companies, businesses that sell pesticides, seed sellers, weight scales, and
agricultural workers, to name a few. ACP programs fall into four broad areas:
Consumer Service Protection, Consumer Product Protection, Agricultural Commodities,
and Environmental and Biosecurity.
With licensing comes the responsibility to verify compliance with applicable laws and
regulations. ACP has five regional offices throughout the state, as well as its main
headquarters in Austin. By having inspectors at regional offices, ACP can effectively
verify compliance throughout the state.
On June 16, 2021, Governor Greg Abbot signed Senate Bill (SB) 703. This statute
added a requirement for TDA to develop and publish annual plans for how it will use its
inspection and enforcement resources to ensure public safety and protect agriculture
and consumers in Texas. SB 703 requires publication of an annual (State of Texas
fiscal year) inspection and enforcement strategy plan with the projected inspection
schedule for the next fiscal year and the reporting of enforcement outcomes over time.
The legislation was codified as Texas Agriculture Code, §12A.004.
ACP’s annual inspection schedules are determined on a program-by-program basis.
Each program’s proposed annual inspection plan is influenced by federal and state
requirements (statutory- or regulation-based inspections), risk-based assessments of
the affected sources, as well as projected ‘unscheduled’ inspections performed in
response to complaints during the year. As a division of the Department , ACP plans to
inspect over 40,000 facilities, verify that 80,000 acres meet standards for certification,
and analyze 4,500 seed samples in Fiscal Year 2024. In addition, TDA anticipates that
185,000 materials shipments will be inspected at roadside stations.
Each program has a different enforcement matrix and different federal and state laws
and regulations that govern the affected source, so there is no single inspection strategy
that would be effective for all programs. ACP’s inspection goals for State of Texas
Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 are organized into individual plans for each program. The plans
also include enforcement results from FY 2022, the latest year for which there is
complete data. The plans fulfill the requirements of Texas Agriculture Code §12A.004
as it applies to ACP.
The draft plan was published on TDA’s website, www.texasagriculture.gov, on July 17,
2023. Publishing the plan opened a 30-day public comment period. The comments
received and ACP’s responses are in Appendix J of this final report.
Contents
I. About the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Division (ACP) ................................. 1
II. Annual Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plan (SB 703)........................................ 6
III. Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plans for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024...................... 7
IV. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 8
APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................... 9
Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS) .........................................................................A-1
Organic Certification ........................................................................................................... B-1
Seed Certification and Seed Law ..................................................................................... C-1
Grain Warehouse ................................................................................................................ D-1
Handling and Marketing of Perishable Commodities (HMPC) ................................. E-1
Agriculture Pesticide........................................................................................................... F-1
Plant Quality ......................................................................................................................... G-1
Weights and Measures ...................................................................................................... H-1
Egg Quality ............................................................................................................................. I-1
Comments and Responses ................................................................................................J-1
Texas Department of Agriculture
Agriculture and Consumer Protection Division
Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plan
Fiscal Year 2024
TDA's consumer protection efforts promote success, unity, and prosperity for the people
of Texas and provide for a fair and equitable marketplace for Texas businesses. TDA
has strong consumer protection programs, which include inspecting grocery store
scales for accuracy, ensuring eggs meet specific quality standards, verifying that
nursery and floral products sold in Texas are free from harmful pests and diseases, and
mandating that pest control applications are performed safely by qualified individuals.
ACP also works hard to ensure that planting seed sold in Texas is truthfully labeled and
meets the highest standards.
TDA also works to provide agriculture producers with the resources and support they
need. ACP is responsible for licensing and training pesticide applicators, overseeing
worker protection, registering pesticides for sale in the state and working to minimize
unnecessary impacts to agriculture while enhancing protection of endangered and
threatened species as mandated by the federal law.
The Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS or the Service) licenses applicators who
apply pesticides in and around structures for compensation. The mission of the Service
is to enhance the educational and professional standards of license holders and ensure
the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
I. About the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Division (ACP)

The ACP Division encompasses several programs grouped into four broad areas of
service, with each program targeting a specific sector of the agricultural and
consumer markets. The four areas are Consumer Service Protection, Agricultural
Commodity, Environment and Biosecurity, and Consumer Product Protection.
Additionally, the division operates three laboratories that support the mission of
ACP.
Consumer Service Protection Programs
Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS)
TDA's Structural Pest Control Service licenses and regulates pest management
professionals who apply pesticides in and around structures for compensation.
SPCS provides exceptional customer service to the public and the industry,
enhances the educational and professional standards of license holders and
ensures the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Pest control applicators
must go through proper training, pass relevant subject exams, and undergo
criminal background checks prior to being issued a license.
1
Pesticide Product Registration Program (Product Registration)
As the lead agency in Texas for regulating pesticides, TDA is responsible for
registering pesticides before they are distributed and/or sold in Texas.
The Pesticide Product Registration Program reviews applications for pesticide
product registration approval; submits special product registrations to EPA
(Section 24(c) Special Local Need (SLN) and Section 18 Emergency
Exemptions); and approves Section 5 Experimental Use Permits (EUP) and
2(ee) recommendations.
There are no field inspection requirements associated with the Pesticide Product
Registration Program. Product Registration does support field inspections,
however. When inspectors find unregistered pesticides in the channels of trade,
the inspector emails or calls the Product Registration team to verify whether the
product is registered in Texas. Product Registration specialists then reach out to
the manufacturer or distributor. The purpose of the communication is to let the
manufacturer or distributor know that their unregistered product is in the Texas
channels of trade. The company is required to either register the product with
TDA or work with the seller to remove or dispose of the product.
Agricultural Commodity Programs
Organic Certification Program
The program's purpose is to simultaneously develop Texas' agricultural economy
and to provide consumers with the most abundant and diverse food and fiber
supply possible. The program helps Texas farmers diversify their operations and
capture a larger share of a growing premium market by ensuring the authenticity
of the products making the organic claim.
As a Certifying Agent as accredited by the United States Department of
Agriculture National Organic Program (NOP), the TDA Organic Certification
Program has the authority to certify organic producers as well as processors,
distributors, and retailers of organic agricultural products. To be certified, an
operation must comply with organic production and handling regulations
established by NOP.
Seed Quality Programs
The Seed Quality Programs help ensure that anyone from a backyard gardener
to a multi-acre farmer receives the highest quality of seed available. The Seed
Quality Programs are based at the Department’s Seed Laboratory. There are
three sub-programs within Seed Quality: Seed Certification, Seed Law, and
Seed Arbitration.
The mission of the Seed Certification Program is to create and make available a
source of seeds and vegetative propagating materials of crops and plants grown,
2
conditioned, certified, and distributed to insure genetic purity and identity in
relation to TDA standards.
The Seed Certification Program has six tasks that support the program’s mission:
• Licenses Certified Growers,
• Registers Plant Breeders,
• Conducts field inspections on certified seed production,
• Inspects conditioning plants,
• Monitors variety purity by testing certified hybrid production samples
through grow-outs in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, and
• Prints and issues certification labels.
The Seed Law Program monitors labeling of seed packages to help ensure that
consumers receive the quality and type of seed they pay for, that the seed will
germinate or sprout as stated on the label, and that the seed will produce the
kind of plants represented. To support the Seed Law Program, the program
performs the following tasks:
• Performs seed sampling regulatory activities,
• Performs laboratory analysis and field grow-out testing on seed samples,
• Issues Vegetable Seed License,
• Issues Permit numbers for reporting seed sales under the Reporting
System,
• Prints and issues Texas Tested Seed Fee Labels,
• Investigates seed complaints, and
• Ensures seed is not contaminated with noxious weed seed.
Seed Arbitration is a hearing before the Seed Arbitration Board to resolve a
dispute between the purchaser of the seed and the labeler/seller of seed about
the failure of the seed to produce or perform as represented. The State Seed
and Plant Board acts as the Seed Arbitration Board for complaints filed for
arbitration. TDA specialists conduct the preliminary investigation then refer all
the documentation and findings to the Seed Arbitration Board. After holding a
hearing, the Seed Arbitration Board reports its findings and recommendations to
the TDA Commissioner. TDA then sends the final report to all parties in the
complaint.
Grain Warehouse Program
The purpose of the Grain Warehouse Program is to protect producers who
deposit agriculture commodities in public storage and ensure the financial
integrity of the industry. Warehouse regulation is intended to ensure that
3
Warehouse Operators maintain the quantity and quality of grain stored for
farmers and other depositors.
The inspection program administers and enforces laws relating to grain storage
and requires that any entity which stores grain for the public have either a TDA-
or a USDA-issued license. This allows TDA to ensure that Texas producers have
a safe and solvent warehouse for their commodities.
Handling and Marketing of Perishable Commodities (HMPC) Program
The mission of the HMPC Program is to protect and assist producers or produce
dealers who do not receive payment for produce sold or handled in Texas.
HMPC inspections and investigations are almost always prompted by an official
claim filed by a producer. In uncommon occurrences, a TDA field office
executive or a field inspector may come across information which will lead to an
HMPC inspection outside of the regular claim protocol.
Hemp Program
The 2018 (federal) Farm Bill legalized the commercial production of hemp and
authorized states to submit state plans to administer hemp programs. Here in
Texas, House Bill 1325 was signed into law in June 2019 and authorizes the
production, manufacture, retail sale, and inspection of industrial hemp crops and
products. This also includes products for consumable hemp products which
contain cannabidiol (CBD), as well as other edible parts of the hemp plant. TDA
opened the hemp licensing and permit application process online on March 16,
2020. Since this program is new, there have been no inspections associated
with the Hemp Program.
Environmental and Biosecurity Programs
Agricultural Pesticide Use and Applications Program
TDA is designated as the state’s lead agency in the regulation of pesticide use
and application. TDA is responsible for licensing and training pesticide
applicators, overseeing worker protection, and working to minimize unnecessary
impacts to agriculture while enhancing protection of endangered and threatened
species.
Plant Quality Programs
TDA protects both consumers and the plant industry by regulating agricultural
products through nursery/floral licensing, phytosanitary inspection of plant
products, quarantine enforcement and pest monitoring. Our Plant Quality
Programs facilitate plant commerce through phytosanitary certification of
commodities to other states and countries in cooperation with their agricultural
agencies, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the USDA Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service and USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine.
4
Another key part of protecting Texas agriculture is the operation of inspection
stations on the major roadways into Texas. At these road stations, TDA
inspectors physically examine inbound agricultural products for invasive pests or
diseases and check to ensure all state phytosanitary laws are met. This helps
keep invasive pests and plant-borne diseases out of Texas.
Consumer Product Protection Programs
Weights and Measures Program
TDA's field staff inspect a wide variety of measuring devices to protect
consumers from overcharges. The purpose of the Weights and Measures
program is to protect consumers and businesses by ensuring that equity prevails
in all commercial transactions involving determinations of quantity.
TDA inspects weighing and measuring devices to ensure performance within
acceptable tolerances and TDA inspects packaging to enforce net content and
labeling regulations. The agency's Weights and Measures program provides
standards for private industry which discourage unfair and dishonest commerce.
TDA also adopts rules and regulations to help eliminate fraud and
misrepresentation in commercial transactions.
Egg Quality Program
The Egg Quality Program enforces standards of egg quality by licensing egg
packers, wholesalers, and distributors. Extensive egg training is provided to
inspectors to ensure the eggs they inspect meet the grade, size and quality
standards set by TDA. To avoid duplication of inspection efforts at retail stores, a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed by both TDA and the
Texas Department of State Health Services. The MOU specifies each agency’s
egg inspection responsibilities.
To improve compliance and oversight, TDA is distributing its inspection efforts
over a wider spectrum of egg retail business types (i.e., grocery and convenience
stores) to better focus resources toward locations that may have a higher risk of
non-compliance. To avoid duplication of inspection efforts at packing facilities,
TDA does not inspect eggs at facilities that are under the USDA’s egg inspection
program.
Continued increase in compliance has been attributed to the use of high-tech
equipment by the egg industry. TDA has developed risk-based inspection criteria
that will permit the allocation of inspection and maintenance resources to provide
a higher level of coverage on the high-risk businesses and an appropriate
inspection effort over lower-risk locations.
5
Laboratories
The Agriculture and Consumer Protection Division also maintains three laboratories
to support their mission.
Seed Lab
All three sub-programs of the Seed Quality Program are run through TDA’s Seed
Lab, utilizing the Seed Lab’s expertise in seed identification and seed grow-outs.
The three sub-programs are Seed Certification, Seed Law, and Seed Arbitration.
Pesticide Lab
The purpose of the Pesticide Lab is to perform analysis of pesticide residues for
monitoring and to aid in the agency’s prosecution of pesticide law violations.
Additionally, the lab analyzes United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Pesticide Data Program (PDP) samples. The Pesticide Data Program (PDP) is a
national pesticide residue database program empowered to collect pesticide
residue data on selected food commodities, primarily fruits and vegetables. PDP
data are used by the EPA to support its dietary risk assessment and pesticide
registration processes, by the Food and Drug Administration to refine sampling
for enforcement of tolerances; by the Foreign Agricultural Service, to support
export of U.S. commodities in a competitive global market; by the Economic
Research Service to evaluate pesticide alternatives; and by the public sector to
address food safety issues. The Pesticide Lab does not carry out inspections but
serves as a support group to other areas of TDA.
Metrology Lab
The State Metrology Lab (Giddings Metrology Lab) conducts mass and
volumetric calibrations on field test standards used by Licensed Service
Companies, TDA inspectors, and other customers that utilize commercial
weighing or measuring devices as described in Texas Agriculture Code §13.113.
All weights and measures calibrations are documented and traceable to the
International System of Units (SI) through the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST). The Giddings Metrology Laboratory is recognized by NIST
in Mass Echelon III and Volume Echelon Transfer II. The Metrology Lab serves
as a support group to the work of the Weights and Measures Program.
II. Annual Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plan (SB 703)

On June 16, 2021, Governor Greg Abbot signed SB 703. The bill was codified as
Texas Agriculture Code, §12A.004. This statute added a requirement for TDA to
develop and publish annual plans for how it will use its inspection and enforcement
resources to ensure public safety and protect agriculture and consumers in Texas.
Within the inspection and enforcement strategic plans for the coming fiscal year, the
statute requires that the division report on the following enforcement activities:
6
• The number, type, and severity of the violations the Department found to
have occurred;
• The number, type, and severity of violations the Department referred for
enforcement;
• The number, type, and severity of violations for which the Department
imposed a penalty or took other enforcement action;
• The number of major violations for which the Department imposed a penalty
or took other enforcement action; and
• The number of repeat major violations, categorized by license type, if
applicable.
In summary, Texas Agriculture Code, §12A.004 requires publication of an annual
inspection and enforcement strategic plan on a State of Texas fiscal year basis with
the projected inspection schedule for the upcoming fiscal year and the reporting of
enforcement outcomes for the prior fiscal year.
The draft plan and report were published on TDA’s website,
www.texasagriculture.gov, on July 17, 2023. Publishing the plan opened a 30-day
public comment period. The comments received and ACP’s responses are included
as Appendix J of this final report.
III. Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plans for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024
At the beginning of the TDA Commissioner’s term, he/she releases the Agency
Strategic Plan. The Agency Strategic Plan outlines broad operational goals for the
coming term and how the agency will evaluate its performance against the stated
goals. The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) works with all divisions in the agency to
put specific numbers to the action items (performance measures) listed in the
Agency Strategic Plan.
ACP’s annual inspection schedules are determined on a program-by-program basis.
Each program’s proposed annual inspection plan is influenced by federal and state
requirements (statutory- or regulation-based inspections), risk-based assessments
of the affected sources, as well as projected ‘unscheduled’ inspections performed in
response to complaints during the year.
Each program has a different enforcement matrix and different federal and state
laws and regulations that govern the affected source, so there is no single inspection
strategy that would be effective for all programs. In addition to any required
statutory inspections, each program that issues a license or is regulated by TDA
may conduct additional inspections based on a schedule of risk-based criteria. The
criteria are listed in Texas Agriculture Code, §12A.003. Some of the listed criteria
are whether there has been a prior violation by the person, the inspection history of
the person, and any history of complaints involving the person.
7
In considering inspections to be performed, program management must also
consider how to best utilize the resources allocated to the program by the Texas
Legislature. For some programs, the best use of TDA resources is to partner with
other federal or state agencies. For example, the USDA has inspection programs at
egg packing facilities that are as stringent as TDA inspections. To avoid duplication
of inspection efforts, TDA does not send inspectors to USDA-inspected packing
facilities. This frees up TDA inspectors’ time and other budget resources for
inspections at facilities that are at higher risk of inspection deficiencies.
Performance measures like the projected number of inspections to be performed are
set by the LBB. The LBB issues performance measures for each program in two-
year plans. In preparation for the LBB plan, ACP programs review the number of
licensees, compliance history for the type of license, and any statutory requirements
for the regulated stakeholders. Programs also consider staffing levels and budgets
when proposing performance measure numbers to the LBB. The measures are
reviewed and approved by ACP management, then forwarded to the LBB. The LBB
reviews the proposed performance measures. The LBB may accept, edit, or reject
the performance measures for the two-year period. The performance measure
levels as approved by the LBB become the strategic plan for each program’s
deployment of personnel and resources. ACP reports its progress toward the LBB
performance measure goals each month. FY 2024 is the first year of the FY 2024-
2025 LBB Plan.
The performance measures that are part of TDA’s Agency Strategic Plan are largely
the same as the information required to comply with Texas Agriculture Code,
§12A.004. As required, the Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plans for each
program area have been developed for FY 2024. The plans for each program are
attached to this report as individual appendices. Each plan discusses the federal
and state regulatory requirements, risk-based assessments, and other inspection
items that influence the program’s inspection schedule. Each program’s plan also
includes the enforcement outcomes from FY 2022, the latest full fiscal year.
IV. Summary
ACP licenses a wide range of stakeholders – pest control companies, businesses
that sell pesticides, seed sellers, weight scales, and agricultural workers, to name a
few. With licensing comes the responsibility to verify compliance.
ACP’s inspection goals for FY 2024 are organized into individual plans for each
program. The plans are included as appendices at the end of this narrative. As a
division of the Department, ACP plans to inspect over 40,000 facilities, verify that
80,000 acres meet standards for certification, and analyze 4,500 seed samples in
Fiscal Year 2024. In addition, TDA anticipates that 185,000 materials shipments will
be inspected at roadside stations. The plans also include enforcement results from
Fiscal Year 2022, the latest year for which there is complete data.
8
The plans fulfill the requirements of the Texas Agriculture Code, §12A.004 as it
applies to ACP.
APPENDICES
Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plans for:
A. Structural Pest Control Service
B. Organic Certification Program
C. Seed Quality Programs (Seed Certification, Seed Law, Seed Arbitration)
D. Grain Warehouse Program
E. Handling and Marketing of Perishable Commodities (HMPC) Program
F. Agricultural Pesticide Use and Applications Program
G. Plant Quality Programs
H. Weights and Measures Program
I. Egg Quality Program
J. Comments and Responses
9
APPENDIX A
Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS)

FY 2024
STRUCTURAL PEST CONTROL SERVICES (SPCS)
INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
FY 2024
A. Inspection Purpose
TDA's Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS) licenses and regulates pest
management professionals who apply pesticides in and around structures and
perform pest control services for hire.
The SPCS inspection program administers and enforces the laws and regulations
that ensure businesses and individuals are properly licensed, that licensees are
properly trained to perform pest control services, and that the individuals and
businesses are compliant with the SPCS laws and regulations.
B. Types of Inspections Performed
The SPCS program inspects pest control businesses and other entities for
compliance with the Structural Pest Control Act. Depending on the type of
inspection (inspection reason/visit type), the Inspector will review different records
during the inspection. The following discusses the five main inspection reasons/visit
types that structural inspectors complete with specific guidance to the type of entities
inspected. The five inspection reasons are: Routine, Re-inspection, Complaint, For-
Cause and Use Observation.
Routine Inspections
Routine inspections are the most thorough inspections completed by structural
inspectors. At a routine inspection, required elements relating to SPCS laws and
regulations are reviewed. All noncompliant items found during the inspection are
documented on inspection forms. The inspector also provides compliance
assistance to the business or entity by explaining how to remedy the non-
compliance. Even if the non-compliant item is rectified during the inspection, the fact
that there was a non-compliance during the inspection is recorded on the inspection
form.
Per Texas Administrative Code, Title 4, Part 1, §7.149, each licensed pest control
business shall be inspected at least once in the business's first year of receiving a
license and at least every four (4) years thereafter. School districts will be inspected
at least once every five (5) years as specified in Texas Administrative Code, Title 4,
Part 1, §7.149. The Department may waive these requirements due to Department
staff availability, budgetary constraints, inspection trends, or operational efficiencies.
Businesses and school districts demonstrating a lack of compliance with Department
rules may be inspected more frequently than would otherwise apply. Some of the
reasons for more frequent inspections are prior violations, prior inspection results,
and prior complaints.
A-2
Re-Inspections
Re-inspections are inspections performed as a follow-up on noncompliance cited in
a previous inspection – typically a routine inspection. Only items found
noncompliant at the previous inspection are reviewed as well as records completed
since last inspection. Any continued noncompliance found is documented on the
inspection forms. As with the routine inspection, the inspector provides compliance
assistance to explain how to come into compliance with the law, regulation, and/or
pesticide label. Non-compliance is noted on the inspection form even if the non-
compliance is corrected during the re-inspection.
Complaint Inspections
Complaint inspections are the result of a complaint being filed with the Department.
Complaints are more commonly filed against commercial businesses but will
occasionally be filed against noncommercial entities or noncommercial schools.
Upon receipt of a complaint, the inspector will respond immediately by contacting the
complainant to gather sufficient preliminary information to determine if an
investigation can be conducted and to arrange for an interview and on-site
inspection with the complainant. During the interview and on-site inspection the
inspector will ask additional questions and review and/or gather any physical
evidence. The inspector will also collect relevant information from other sources.
The inspector then submits a report to the TDA Enforcement Division. Response
time for conducting the interview and inspection depends upon complaint type:
• Human exposure: Within 6 hours after initial notification of a complaint
involving alleged human exposure, the complainant will be contacted by the
Assistant Regional Director or Regional Director by phone. Within 24 hours,
the inspector will contact the complainant in person.
• All other complaints: An inspector will make personal contact with the
complainant within 48 hours from the date initially notified of the complaint
involving allegations other than human exposure.
For-Cause Inspections
For-Cause inspections are inspections performed for a reason other than a
complaint or re-inspection for previous noncompliance. When the Department has
reason to believe there are violations with a particular entity, an inspector may be
sent to the entity to perform a For-Cause inspection.
Use Observations
Use Observations are inspections completed in the field while the inspector is
observing pesticide applications or pesticide device use. Use observations do not
include observing an inspection for termites or pest presence and can be completed
for any account type. Regardless of account type, TDA inspectors are required to
enter what they observed.
A-3
C. Structural Pest Control Business Accounts Inspected
Commercial Business
At a commercial business inspection, the inspector is required to review a random
sampling of use records from all areas in which the business provides services.
Additionally, the inspector must review:
• invoices, contracts, service agreements,
• license display (business vehicles and premise),
• posting notices (for indoor treatments),
• Consumer Information Sheet,
• pesticide storage and disposal, and
• training records including certificates of completion for continuing education
units (CEUs).
If the commercial business provides termite or structural fumigation services, the

Inspector must also review:
• termite disclosures,
• Wood Destroying Insect Reports (WDIRs), and
• use record requirements particular to commercial preconstruction termite
treatments and structural fumigations.
Non-Commercial Business/Non-Commercial Political Business
Non-commercial licenses are required when an employee of the state or a political
subdivision of the state engages in structural pest control in or around their
employers’ structures. Non-commercial licenses are also required if you are an
employee performing structural pest control on buildings that are an apartment
building; day-care center; hospital; nursing home; a hotel, motel, or lodge; a
warehouse; a food processing establishment other than a restaurant, retail food, or
food service establishment; or a school.
Non-commercial business inspections (including non-commercial political business
inspections) will vary depending on whether the entity employs a licensed applicator.
If the entity employs a licensed applicator, then the inspector is required to review a
random sampling of use records from all areas in which the business provides
services. Additionally, the inspector must review posting notices (for indoor
treatments), Consumer Information Sheet, pesticide storage and disposal, and
training records including certificates of completion for continuing education units
(CEUs) for their compliance with regulation. If the entity performs termite or
structural fumigation work, the inspector must review termite disclosures, WDIRs
and use record requirements particular to structural fumigations and commercial
preconstruction termite treatments. If the entity does not employ a licensed
applicator, then the inspector will review posting notices, ensure the entity has a
Consumer Information Sheet available upon request (if indoor pesticide applications
A-4
are made), pesticide storage and pesticide disposal (if applicable). The inspector will
also verify the entity is using a licensed applicator.
School Districts
At a non-commercial school routine inspection, the inspector will:
• ensure the district has copies of the School IPM policy,
• confirm the district has an IPM Coordinator,
• verify the IPM Coordinator’s training,
• confirm the district has specific thresholds,
• confirm the district has a record-keeping system,
• confirm the district has a Consumer Information Sheet to make available,
• ensure the district is using appropriately licensed applicators,
• review a random sample of use records from the district’s applicators and/or
contract vendor,
• review any yellow or red category approval forms,
• review posting notices for both indoor and outdoor applications, and
• check pesticide storage and disposal.
If the district employs licensed structural applicators, the inspector will randomly
review the structural applicator’s use records for compliance.
If the district employs licensed agricultural (ag) applicators or contracts commercial
structural or ag applicators (not employees of the district, but of a commercial
business) the Inspector will only review use records to determine if yellow or red
category products were used and to confirm whether the district has a preferential
use of lower risk pesticides and non-chemical pest management strategies.
D. SPCS Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Table 1 represents the SPCS’s Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024.
As discussed in Section III of the main report, performance measures used by this
program are set by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic plan
As of May 2023, there are 3,912 commercial business licenses, and 1,461 licenses
for non-commercial and non-commercial political businesses and school district
licenses. Based on these numbers and the inspection frequency outlined above,
SPCS inspectors would be obligated to perform 1,289 inspections annually. The
LBB has increased SPCS inspections from 1,880 in the FY 2022-23 Plan to 1,940 in
the FY 2024-25 plan. ACP staff will use the LBB performance measures as the
inspection goals to be more protective of Texas consumers.
The following table summarizes only those performance measures for SPCS that
involve inspections to be performed (inspection goals). When reporting inspection
goals, the table divides the inspections by business type (commercial, non-
commercial/non-commercial political, and school districts).
A-5
Table 1 – Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Inspection Type
Inspection Goals
(Routine, Re-Inspection, Complaint, and For-Cause)
Commercial 1,065
Non-Commercial/Non-Commercial Political 460
School District 225
Use Observation 190
Total Inspections Planned for FY 2024 1,940
E. SPCS Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

Inspectors send case reports for inspection-based incidents and complaint incidents
to program specialists for review. A program specialist reviews the submitted report
for possible violations and if found, then submits the case file to Enforcement for
further processing. Once Enforcement receives the case, TDA’s legal staff work on
the case until resolution/discharge. There are many steps to resolve a case. More
complex cases take longer to resolve.
For this section of the report, enforcement actions have been divided into two
sections. The first section shows how many inspections were performed by
business type in FY 2022 (Table 2 below).
Table 2 – Inspections FY 2022
Inspection Type
(Routine, Re-Inspection, Complaint, and For- Inspections Conducted
Cause)
Commercial 984
Non-Commercial/Non-Commercial Political 445
School District 265
Use Observation 192
Total Inspections Conducted in FY 2022 1,886
Enforcement actions taken are detailed in the next section. The enforcement data
lists the number of Notice of Violations (NOVs) and warnings issued and is further
divided into each type of violation. At the end of the list is the dollar amount of
penalties assessed and the amount collected. For this report, a major violation is
operating without a business license. There were 76 major violations, for which
Enforcement issued one warning letter and 75 NOVs. The major violations are
shown In bold in the following table.
A-6
Enforcement Actions in FY22
SPCS NOTICE OF VIOLATIONS AND WARNINGS FY 2022
Major violations shown in bold.
NOVs 265
Failure to comply with advertising requirements 15
Failure to comply with IPM requirements 8
Failure to comply w/training or supervision requirements 22
Failure to leave durable sticker at property 1
Failure to maintain required insurance 7
Failure to properly complete a WDIR 4
Failure to provide notice of employee separation 1
Failure to timely register employees 32
Improper deviation from treatment disclosure 1
Incorrect pesticide use records 6
Operating without a business license 75
Working out of category 1
Working without an apprentice license 3
Other violation: 89
Warnings 37
Failure to comply with IPM requirements 10
Failure to properly complete a WDIR 1
Incomplete pesticide use records 11
Operating without a business license 1
Other violation: 14
TOTAL NOVS AND Warnings IN FY-2022 302

Penalties Assessed $150,550
Penalties Collected $104,300
A-7
APPENDIX B
Organic Certification
FY 2024
ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
FY 2024
As an accredited Certifying Agent by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) National Organic Program (NOP), the TDA Organic Certification Program
has the authority to certify organic producers as well as processors, distributors, and
retailers of organic agricultural products. To be certified, an operation must comply
with organic production and handling regulations established by the NOP. See 7
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §§205 et seq., as well as the NOP Handbook,
for program specifics.
Per NOP 2601 (The Organic Certification Process), certifiers shall inspect each
operation annually to determine whether its certification should continue. This
means that every operation certified by TDA is inspected annually.
In addition to the annual routine inspection, CFR Title 7, §205.403(b)(1)
(Unannounced Inspections) states that certifying agents must conduct unannounced
inspections for 5% of their total certified operations per year. Unannounced
inspections carry selection criteria including previous noncompliance issues,
complaints, organic and non-organic production or handling, especially of visually
indistinguishable varieties, risk of contamination from adjoining land use or
commingling, or contamination during handling, and the complexity of operation. At
the beginning of each calendar year (January), TDA uses these criteria to select
operations for unannounced inspections.
There are four types of inspections that an organic inspector may be assigned.
New Inspection (Initial Inspection)
A new inspection is an inspection conducted at an operation that is seeking initial
organic certification. The inspector must conduct a complete inspection of the
operation seeking certification as required in 7 CFR §205.403(a)(1).
Routine Inspection
A routine inspection is the “annual inspection” conducted at a currently certified
operation, as required in 7 CFR §205.406(b) so that the operation can continue to be
certified. A certifying agent (in this case, TDA) must conduct an on-site inspection at
least once per calendar year.
B-2
Re-inspection
There are three types of re-inspections – noncompliance correction, harvest
inspection, and second attempt.
a. Noncompliance Correction: A noncompliance re-inspection is initiated by
Program to verify that the operator has corrected previously identified areas
of noncompliance.
b. Harvest Inspection: A harvest inspection is an inspection initiated by Program
or requested by the crop producer for the purpose of observing harvest
activities. Inspectors collect one or more pesticide residue samples of
harvested product prior to the harvested product leaving the crop producer’s
operation.
c. Second Attempt: A second attempt inspection is an inspection that is
conducted after an inspection was previously attempted but could not be
completed.
Investigative Inspection
Investigative inspections are conducted to determine if an operation is non-compliant
and whether that noncompliance is a willful violation of one or more NOP
Regulations.
C. Organic Certification Inspections Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Table 1 represents the Organic Certification Program’s Inspection Strategic Plan for
FY 2024. As discussed in Section III of the main report, performance measures for
this program are set by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic
plan. The following summarizes only those performance measures for the Organic
Certification Program that involve inspections to be performed.
There are currently 172 operations that have active organic certifications. As
required by the USDA NOP, these facilities must be inspected each year. The NOP
requires an additional 5% unannounced inspections, equivalent to nine inspections.
On average, the inspectors perform four complaints/re-inspections per year. LBB
has proposed 231 inspections for organic producers, processors, distributors, and
retailers in recognition of the larger organics market sector, so the program has
adjusted its FY 2024 inspection goal accordingly.
Inspection Type Inspection Goals
On-site Inspections and re-inspections of organic
producers, processors, distributors, and retailers 231
(announced and unannounced)
Complaints/Re-inspections 4
Total Planned Inspections FY 2024 235
B-3
D. Organic Certification Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022
Inspection observations are reviewed, and, if non-compliances (violations) are
found, then program determines the steps necessary for the operation to come into
compliance with applicable laws and regulations (noncompliance resolution). This
contrasts with other ACP programs where Enforcement (TDA’s legal staff) reviews
the violations found during inspections to determine the appropriate resolution.
Table 2 summarizes the inspections and resolutions for FY 2022. NOP defines each
individual violation as either major or minor, however, resolution of major violations
would not (necessarily) trigger the potential to revoke the operator’s organics
certification. Instead of using the NOP definition of ‘major violation’, only those
violations that put the operator’s organic certification in jeopardy will be counted as
‘major violations’ for this report.
Table 2 – Violations Found by Inspection in FY 2022
Non-
Inspections Revocation Non-
Inspection type Compliances
Conducted Compliances Found
Found
On-site inspections and re-
inspections of organic
187 14 0
producers, processors,
distributors, and retailers
Totals 187 14 0
There were no cases discharged in FY 2022 that were licensees with repeat major
violations.
B-4
APPENDIX C
Seed Certification and Seed Law

Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plans
FY 2024
SEED CERTIFICATION AND SEED LAW
INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIC PLANS
FY 2024
The Seed Certification Program licenses certified growers, registers plant breeders,
conducts field inspections on certified seed production, inspects conditioning plants,
and monitors variety purity. Texas Certified Seed Growers choosing to participate in
the Seed Certification Program must have their fields inspected prior to harvest. The
growers are required to submit applications to TDA requesting field inspections.
The TDA Seed Law Program monitors the labeling of agricultural seed and
vegetable seed sold in the State of Texas. The purpose is to verify that the seed
packages meet the labeling requirements of the Texas Seed Law and are labeled
truthfully.
Seed Arbitration is a hearing before the Seed Arbitration Board between the
purchaser and the labeler or seller of seed sold in Texas regarding the failure of
seed to produce or perform as represented by the warranty or by the label, or
because of negligence.
B. Inspections Performed
Seed Certification Inspection
For seed certification, the number of acres inspected each year is determined by the
number of field inspection requests received. TDA inspects 100% of the fields
requested by Texas Certified Seed Growers. The purpose of this inspection is to
make sure the field passes seed certification standards. It is a pass/fail inspection.
TDA does not assess penalties or other enforcement actions against a seed grower
for a field that fails its certification inspection. Certified seed cannot be produced
from a field that has not met the standards for seed certification, therefore the
consequences of a failed field inspection are not penalties issued by TDA, but
economic losses to the seed grower. Certified seed has a higher market value than
uncertified seed.
Seed Law Inspection
TDA Inspectors randomly select seed companies and seed distributors located in
the inspectors’ work areas from whom to draw seed samples. Seed Analysts test
the submitted seed samples to verify seed kind, noxious weed seed content, and
germination percentage. Program Specialists compare the findings to the seed
labeling to verify that the packages are truthfully labeled.
C-2
Seed Arbitration
This program provides dispute resolution, weighing the evidence provided by both
sides of the dispute. As such, no inspections specific to Seed Arbitration are
associated with this program.
C. Seed Certification and Seed Law Inspections Strategic Plan for FY 2024
As discussed in Section III of the main report, performance measures for this
program are set by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic
plan. The following summarizes only those performance measures for the Seed
Certification Program and Seed Law Program that involve inspections to be
performed.
Unlike other programs, the Seed Certification Program does not have a list of
facilities it must inspect. Instead, the program receives requests from individual
certified seed growers, so the number of acres inspected can vary from year to year.
TDA inspectors examine 100% of the fields requested by the certified seed growers,
regardless of the LBB performance target. The LBB has estimated that seed
growers will request inspections for 80,000 acres in any given year, a number
reflective of current operations.
The Seed Law Program monitors labeling of seed packages to help ensure that
consumers receive the quality and type of seed they pay for, that the seed will
germinate or sprout as stated on the label, and that the seed will produce the kind of
plants represented.
Table 1 represents the FY 2024 Inspection Strategic Plans for the Seed Certification
Program and the Seed Law Program.
Total Planned Seed Certification Inspections 80,000 acres
Total Planned Seed Law Inspections 4,500 samples
D. Seed Certification and Seed Law Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

For seed certification, inspections determine if a field will pass or fail the seed
certification standards. It is not a violation of the seed certification standards if a
field fails, thus no violations are issued by program and no cases are sent to
Enforcement.
Seed Law Inspectors submit seed samples to the program for testing and review. A
program specialist reviews the labeling of the seed for possible violations and if
found, then submits the inspection reports and samples to Enforcement for further
review. Once Enforcement receives the case, TDA’s legal staff work on the case
C-3
until resolution/discharge. There are many steps to resolve a case. More complex
cases take longer to resolve.
For this section of the report, enforcement actions have been divided into two tables.
One table is for those actions that take place at the program level, namely
inspections, identification of violations, and submission of inspection reports and
samples to Enforcement. The other table is for finalized/discharged enforcement
cases which are handled by TDA’s Legal Services Division.
Table 2 summarizes the action items that take place at the program level. These
items are the number of inspections performed, the number of violations found, and
the number of violations referred to Enforcement.
For seed certification, inspections determine if a field does or does not meet the
seed certification standards. It is not a violation of the seed certification standards if
a field fails, thus no violations are issued by the program. The table columns listed
as ‘Violations Found’, ‘Samples Referred to Enforcement’ and ‘Equivalent Cases
Referred to Enforcement’ are listed as ‘not applicable’ in Table 2.
The Seed Law Program is a quality program, rather than a licensing program. The
program’s purpose is to determine the quality of seed in the Texas channels of trade
through testing. Testing can identify multiple ways that the seed and/or labeling do
not meet standards, so there can be more than one violation associated with a
single seed sample (number of enforcement cases is greater than the number of
seed samples). Conversely, multiple samples can have the same violation, meaning
that a single Enforcement case can be made up of multiple samples (number of
enforcement cases is less than the number of seed samples). For the Seed Law
program taken as a whole, the number of Enforcement cases has always been less
than the number of samples.
Equivalent
Samples
Inspections Violations Cases
Inspection type Referred to
Performed Found Referred to
Enforcement
Enforcement
Seed Certification
91,784 acres Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable
Inspections
Seed Law Inspections 4,604 samples 895 358 77
Table 3 summarizes the enforcement actions that were finalized (discharged) in FY

2022, which may or may not be the fiscal year when the violation was uncovered by
inspectors.
C-4
Since there are no ‘violations’ associated with Seed Certification, there are no
Enforcement outcomes associated with this program, therefore, the Seed
Certification Program is not listed in Table 3.
For Seed Law, Table 3 displays the data on a number-of-cases basis and on a
number-of-samples basis. As noted in the previous section, the number of cases is
less than the number of samples with violations.
The Seed Manual and Seed Penalty Matrix define the severity of the violations. The
manual and penalty matrix do not use the word “major.” The most severe rating is
“serious.” For this report, a major violation in the Seed Law program is any violation
listed as a serious violation in the Seed Manual and the Seed Penalty Matrix. In
Table 3, the number of cases/samples discharged with major (serious) violations is a
subset of the total number of cases/samples discharged.
Table 3 – Enforcement Actions FY 2022
Total Total Discharged - Major
Inspection Type Type
Discharged (Serious) Violations
Seed Law Case Basis 145 9
Seed Law Sample Basis 324 13
There were no cases/samples discharged in FY 2022 were violators with repeat

major (serious) violations.
C-5
APPENDIX D
Grain Warehouse
FY 2024
GRAIN WAREHOUSE
FY 2024
The Grain Warehouse Program administers and enforces laws relating to grain
storage and requires that any entity which stores grain for the public must have
either a TDA- or a USDA-issued license. This allows TDA to ensure that Texas
producers have a safe, solvent warehouse in which to store their commodities.
Annual Inspections
All TDA-licensed Grain Warehouses are inspected each year. All license holders
pay a user fee to TDA to perform the required annual inspection with the fee being
based on the storage capacity of the facilities.
Annual Inspections with on-site financial audit
In addition to the annual inspection, all TDA-licensed Grain Warehouses are
required to submit an audited financial statement each year. The statement is then
reviewed by a TDA financial examiner. Using the information obtained from the
financial statement, a risk-based rating formula is used to determine whether the
facility is also required to undergo an on-site financial audit as part of the facility’s
required annual inspection.
Re-Inspections
A re-inspection or a risk assessment inspection targets grain warehouses where
trends of noncompliance are established. Depending on the trend of noncompliance
a partial or complete routine inspection may be conducted. Re-inspections focus on
issues where bookkeeping or management practices have been corrected and need
to be reviewed/verified. A warehouse manager may request a re-inspection if the
warehouse manager does not agree with the findings or the initial measurement.
Increase/Decrease Capacity Verification Inspection
If the owner/operator of the grain warehouse wants to increase or decrease the
licensed storage capacity of the warehouse, the owner must submit a completed
Capacity Change Inspection request form and undergo an inspection to confirm the
capacity change. An inspection fee must be paid before the inspection.
Non-Licensed Grain Warehouse Inspection
As staffing and other resources allow, each field inspector performs at least one
inspection of a non-licensed facility each fiscal year.
D-2
Complaint Inspection
The program occasionally receives a complaint from outside the agency or an
inspection may be requested by the program.
C. Grain Warehouse Inspections Strategic Plan for FY 2024
As discussed in Section III of the main report, performance measures for this
program are set by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic
plan. The following summarizes only those performance measures for the Grain
Warehouse Program that involve inspections to be performed. The performance
measure for the Grain Warehouse Program lumps all inspections together as a
single measure. The LBB performance measure was based on inspecting each
grain warehouse annually. Since the establishment of the LBB’s performance
target, the sector has experienced a steady downward trend of TDA-licensed grain
warehouses due to reduced crop yields related to weather events, industry
consolidations, and closures of smaller operations due to the economics of scale. In
addition, some licensees have opted not to renew their TDA license because USDA-
issued (federal) licenses have lower fees. There are currently 113 grain warehouses
licensed with TDA. The inspection goal in Table 1 below reflects the actual number
of facilities, rather than the LBB performance measure for this license type.
Table 1 represents the Grain Warehouse Program’s Inspection Strategic Plan for FY
2024. Since the number of complaints received or the number of re-inspections
needed cannot be predicted in advance of the fiscal year, the planned re-inspections
and the planned complaints are listed as ‘As needed.’

Grain Warehouse Inspections 113
Re-Inspections As needed
Field Audits 37
Complaints As needed
D. Grain Warehouse Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

to program specialists for review. A program specialist reviews the report for
possible violations and if found, then submits the case file to Enforcement for further
processing. Once Enforcement receives the case, TDA’s legal staff work on the
case until resolution/discharge. There are many steps to resolve a case. More
D-3
inspections, identification of violations, and submitting cases to Enforcement. The
other table is for finalized/discharged enforcement cases which are handled by
TDA’s Legal Services Division.
Inspections Violations Cases Referred
Inspection type
Performed Found to Enforcement
Grain Warehouse Inspections,
Re-Inspections, Audits, and 133 16 6
Complaints

2022. The rightmost column is the count of cases where the violation was a major
violation. This column is a subset of the total cases discharged for the fiscal year.
For this report, a major violation is one that has the inspection result ‘Non-Compliant
– Refer to Enforcement.’
Table 3 – Enforcement Action FY 2022
Inspection type Total Cases Cases Discharged –
Discharged Major Violations
Grain Warehouse Inspections, Re-
1 0
Inspections, Audits, and Complaints
violations.
D-4
APPENDIX E
Handling and Marketing of Perishable Commodities (HMPC)

FY 2024
HANDLING AND MARKETING OF PERISHABLE COMMODITIES (HMPC)
FY 2024
The mission of the Handling and Marketing of Perishable Commodities (HMPC) Program is
to protect and assist producers or produce dealers who do not receive payment for produce
sold or handled in Texas.
HMPC inspections and investigations are almost always prompted by an official claim filed
by a producer. In uncommon occurrences, a TDA field office executive or a field inspector
may come across information which will lead to an HMPC inspection outside of the regular
claim protocol.
C. HMPC Inspections Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Table 1 represents the HMPC Program’s Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024. As
outlined above, this program’s inspections are driven almost exclusively by the program
receiving a formal complaint. Since the number of claims received cannot be predicted in
advance of the fiscal year, the HMPC Program is not planning any inspections in 2024.
HMPC Claim Inspections driven by complaints filed with TDA. 0
D. HMPC Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

The HMPC Program does not perform inspections proactively. Instead, a producer files an
official claim form (RPC-405) with TDA claiming that they have suffered a loss. An
inspection is scheduled with the claimant. The role of the TDA inspector is to gather facts
about the claimed loss. The results of the inspection are submitted to the coordinator.
The coordinator submits a memo to the TDA Hearings Clerk who places the claim on the
TDA Hearings Officer calendar as a hearing to come before the TDA Hearing Officer and
the Program Coordinator. At the hearing, the TDA Hearing Officer will hear the parties
present their information and review the details of the case and render a decision.
After the hearing has been completed, the TDA Hearings Officer will issue a Proposal for
Decision (PFD). If the Hearing Officer decides in favor of Complainant, the Respondent will
have 15 days from the date of the PFD to file a Notice of Protest.
E-2
If a party files a Notice of Protest within the 15-day period, a hearing will be held before the
Produce Recovery Fund Board. If the party is dissatisfied with the determination of the
Board, the party has a right to file a motion for rehearing and request judicial review.
Either party may appeal the TDA Hearing Officer’s decision and ask for a rehearing/judicial
review. After the hearing (appeal of initial decision is not filed) or rehearing (appeal of initial
decision is filed), the Board’s decision becomes final. If the Board’s decision is to pay the
claim, there is a separate process which will not be detailed here.
In addition to the hearing board process, the parties can come to an agreement to settle the
case before the hearing takes place. In this instance, TDA closes the case without a
hearing.
For this section of the report, enforcement actions have been divided into two tables. Table
2 recaps those actions that take place before the case is calendared, namely inspections,
identification of violations, and submitting cases to the TDA Hearings Clerk. Table 3
outlines the cases which were either settled prior to the hearing (closed) or the Board’s
decision became final in FY 2022.
Cases Submitted
Inspections Violations
Inspection type to Legal Hearings
Performed Found
Clerk
HMPC Claim Inspections 1 1 1
Totals 1 1 1
Table 3 summarizes the cases that were either settled by the parties before the hearing
(closed) or the hearing board’s decision had become final in FY 2022. The rightmost
column is the count of cases where the violation was a major violation. This column is a
subset of the total cases closed or finalized for the fiscal year. For this report, a major
violation is defined as failure to pay for commodities delivered as well as operating without
a license if the buyer does not pay cash on delivery.
Inspection type Total Cases Cases
Closed/Finalized *Closed/Finalized –
Major Violations
HMPC Claim Outcomes 0 0
Totals 0 0
* In 2021, two separate complaints were filed with both USDA’s Perishable
Agriculture Commodity Act (PACA) and with TDA. TDA is awaiting USDA’s decisions
on the two complaints before acting on the corresponding TDA claims.
E-3
violations.
E-4
APPENDIX F
Agriculture Pesticide
FY 2024
AGRICULTURE PESTICIDE
FY 2024
TDA's Agriculture Pesticide (Ag Pest) Program licenses and regulates pesticide applicators
for both personal use, commercial use and non-commercial uses involved in agricultural
production. The Ag Pest program also inspects those businesses that distribute pesticides
to ensure the business is licensed if required and that pesticides are registered properly.
The Ag Pest inspection program administers and enforces the laws and regulations that
ensure individuals and businesses are properly licensed and licensees are properly trained
to perform agricultural pesticide applications. Ag Pest inspections make certain that all
agricultural pesticide applicators who apply pesticides in and around agricultural sites are
compliant with the laws and regulations pertaining to those in the application of agricultural
pesticides.
Ag Pest Program inspectors conduct inspections for several reasons to include Routine
Inspections, Re-Inspections, Complaint Inspections, For Cause Inspections, and Use
Observations.
Routine Inspections
Routine inspections are the most thorough inspections completed by ag pest inspectors. At
a routine inspection, everything the business and/or individual is required to be compliant
with will be checked. All noncompliance found must be documented on the inspection
forms. The inspector also provides compliance assistance to the business or individual to
explain how to come in compliance. Inspectors may not cite the business or individual as
compliant even if the violation is corrected at the time of inspection. Applicators are
inspected based on how many applicators of each classification there are and on the
number of complaints received in the previous year. Pesticide Dealers are inspected every
3 years.
Re-Inspections
Re-inspections are inspections performed as a follow-up on noncompliance cited in a
previous inspection – typically a routine inspection. Only items found non-compliant at the
previous inspection are reviewed as well as records completed since last inspection. Any
continued non-compliance found is documented on the inspection forms. As with the
routine inspection, the inspector provides compliance assistance to explain how to come
into compliance with the law or regulation. Non-compliance is noted on the inspection
form, even if the non-compliance is corrected during the re-inspection.
F-2
Complaint inspections are inspections completed because of a complaint being filed with
the Department. Upon receipt of a complaint, the inspector will respond immediately by
contacting the complainant to gather sufficient preliminary information to determine if an
investigation can be conducted and to arrange for an interview and onsite inspection with
the complainant. Per TDA policy, response time for conducting the interview and
inspection depends upon complaint type:
• Human exposure: Within 6 hours after initial notification of complaints involving
alleged human exposure, the complainant will be contacted by an Assistant
Regional Director or a Regional Director by phone. Within 24 hours, an inspector
will contact the complainant in person.
• All other complaints: An inspector will make personal contact with the complainant
within 48 hours from the date initially notified of complaints involving allegations
other than human exposure.
For-Cause Inspections
For-Cause inspections are inspections completed for a reason other than a complaint or re-
inspection for previous noncompliance. When the Department has reason to believe there
are violations with a particular entity, an inspector may be sent to the entity to perform a
For-Cause inspection. A business or licensee demonstrating a lack of compliance with
Department rules may be inspected more frequently than would otherwise apply. Some of
the reasons for more frequent inspections are prior violations; prior inspection results; and
prior complaints.
Use Observations
Use Observations are inspections completed in the field while the inspector is observing an
actual pesticide application or pesticide device use.
C. Agriculture Pesticide Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Table 1 represents the Ag Pest’s Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024. As discussed in
Section III of the main report, performance measures for this program are set by the
Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic plan. The following summarizes
only those performance measures for the Ag Pest Program that involve inspections to be
performed. For this report, re-inspections are included with the routine inspections. Since
the number of complaints received cannot be predicted in advance of the fiscal year, the
F-3
number of complaint inspections in the table below represents an estimate based on the
number of complaints received in past fiscal years.
Routine and Re-Inspection 4,700
Complaint estimate based on previous years 225
Use Observation 125
Total Planned Inspections FY 2024 5,050
D. Agriculture Pesticide Violations Found and Enforcement Actions During FY 2022

Inspectors send case reports for inspection-based incidents and complaint incidents to
program specialists for review. A program specialist reviews the report for content and
proper procedure, then submits the case file to Enforcement for further processing. Once
Enforcement receives the case, TDA’s legal staff work on the case until
resolution/discharge. There are many steps to resolve a case. More complex cases take
longer to resolve.
For this section of the report, enforcement actions have been divided into two tables. One
table is for those actions that take place at the program level, namely inspections,
identification of violations, and submitting cases to Enforcement. The other table is for
finalized/discharged enforcement cases which are handled by TDA’s Legal Services
Division.
Table 2 summarizes the action items that take place at the program level. These items are
the number of inspections performed, the number of violations found, and the number of
violations referred to Enforcement.
Table 2 – Inspections and Violations FY 2022
Inspection type Inspections Cases Referred to
Performed Enforcement
Routine Inspections 4,101 21
Re-Inspections 197 1
Complaint Inspections 346 141
Use Observations 173 0
Totals 4,817 156
Table 3 summarizes the enforcement actions that were finalized (discharged) in FY 2022.
The rightmost column is the count of cases where the violation was a major violation. This
column is a subset of the total cases discharged for the fiscal year. For this report, a major
violation would include human exposure, working without a license, and pesticide drift onto
another property. Major violations were issued a penalty.
F-4
Violations Total Cases Cases Discharged
Inspection type
issued Discharged – Major Violations
Routine and Re-inspection 2 4 3
Complaint 139 190 59
Use Observation 0 0 0
Totals 141 194 62
violations.
F-5
APPENDIX G
Plant Quality
FY 2024
PLANT QUALITY
FY 2024
One way the Texas Department of Agriculture protects consumers, and the plant
industry is by regulating agricultural products through nursery/floral licensing,
phytosanitary inspection of plant products, quarantine enforcement and pest
monitoring. Our Plant Quality Programs facilitate plant commerce through
phytosanitary certification of commodities to be shipped to other states and countries
in cooperation with their agricultural agencies, the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
and USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine.
Nursery/Floral Inspections
Nursery/Floral inspections are conducted throughout Texas on businesses that sell
and propagate plant materials. The inspection strategy is to inspect a facility each
year if the business grows the plants that they sell. Those businesses that sell
plants or plant materials but do not grow them are inspected when they first open
and then every 3 years as a cycle.
Road Station Inspections
Road station inspections help ensure plants and plant materials entering the state
have met phytosanitary requirements, thus protecting the health of Texas’ plant life.
TDA has several road stations where 18-wheelers are required to stop for an
inspection after crossing into Texas. The inspections are conducted in conjunction
with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). The presence of DPS personnel
also ensures that TDA inspectors can safely carry out required inspections. The
partnership with DPS adds weight to TDA’s inspection requirement by adding the
potential for criminal prosecution if a driver chooses not to stop.
TDA inspectors follow up on complaints received by the public. The complaints can
be made about both sellers and growers of plants in Texas and other states.
Compliance of quarantine law helps to protect Texas when working with out of state
plant businesses.
Quarantine Inspections
Quarantine inspections are conducted by the TDA to ensure plant pest and diseases
are not spread in Texas. There are two sources of pests/diseases – from within the
G-2
state and from interstate commerce (pests and diseases brought from outside
Texas). TDA inspects shipments from outside Texas at road stations. These
shipments may be importing pests or diseases into Texas from quarantined areas
outside of Texas. See explanation above for road station inspections.
Quarantine inspections are also conducted at businesses within the state that offer
plants and plant materials for sale. The inspections help to ensure that these
businesses are offering plants free of disease and pests to the consumer.
One agricultural crop, cotton, has a specific quarantine inspection associated with
preventing the spread and potential eradication of the boll weevil. Cotton stalk
destruction inspections are conducted by the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation (TBWEF) in cooperation with TDA. The TBWEF conducts the
inspections. Any cotton fields found in non-compliance for the destruction of the
cotton stalks after harvest, are then referred to the TDA's Enforcement Division for
administrative penalty review.
C. Plant Quality Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Table 1 represents the Plant Quality’s Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024. As
discussed in Section III of the main report, performance measures for this program
are set by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic plan. The
following summarizes only those performance measures for Plant Quality that
involve inspections to be performed.
Quarantine inspections performed for the Cotton Boll Weevil Eradication Program
are not included in Table 1. The inspections verifying that the remaining cotton plant
stubble after harvest has been destroyed are conducted by staff at the Texas Boll
Weevil Eradication Foundation (TBWEF), therefore, the cotton stalk destruction
inspections are not counted as inspections conducted by TDA staff and are not
included in the Table 1.
Since the number of complaints received cannot be predicted in advance of the
fiscal year, the number of complaint inspections in the table below represents an
estimate based on the number of complaints received in past fiscal years.
Table 1 – Inspection Strategic Plan for FY2024
Nursery Floral Inspections 8,000
Road Station Inspections 185,000
State/Federal Quarantine 850
Complaint estimate based on previous years 970
G-3
The number of road station inspections is an estimate of the number of 18-wheelers
that will pass through the road station, not just those 18-wheelers that are carrying
plant material.
D. Plant Quality Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022
to program specialists for review. A program specialist reviews the report for
possible violations and if found, then submits the case file to Enforcement for further
review. Once Enforcement receives the case, TDA’s legal staff work on the case
until resolution/discharge. There are many steps to resolve a case. More complex
cases take longer to resolve.
inspections with identification of violations, and submitting cases to Enforcement.
The other table is for finalized/discharged enforcement cases which are handled by
TDA’s Legal Services Division.
the number of violations referred to Enforcement. For quarantine violations found,
100% of violations found during inspection are referred to enforcement.
The road station violations are included with the quarantine violations. The cotton
stalk destruction inspections are not carried out by TDA, therefore, table cells for the
number of inspections and the number of violations found are left blank. However, if
violations are found during the cotton stalk destruction inspections, they are
enforced by the TDA Enforcement Division. Boll weevil quarantine violations have
become relatively rare due to the vigilance of TDA’s inspectors and cotton growers.
Table 2 – Inspections and Violations FY 2022
Inspection type Inspections Violations Cases Referred
Performed found to Enforcement
Nursery/Floral 8,268 217 10
Complaint 9 5 1
Cotton Stalk Destruction -- -- 43
Boll Weevil -- -- 0
Quarantine 1,180 128 128
Road Station 184,466 64 shipments Included with
rejected Quarantine and
Boll Weevil cases
Total 193,924 414 182

2022. The rightmost column is the count of cases where the violation was a major
G-4
violation. This column is a subset of the total cases discharged for the fiscal year.
For this report, there are two violations that are considered major violations:
• selling without a license, and
• possible introduction of a plant pest or disease that could affect an agriculture
plant industry in Texas.
Cases Discharged –
Inspection type Total Cases Discharged
Major Violations
Nursery/Floral 2 1
Complaint 1 1
Cotton Stalk Destruction 6 0
Boll Weevil 1 0
Quarantine 90 52
Road Stations Included with Quarantine Included with Quarantine
and Boll Weevil cases and Boll Weevil cases
Total 100 54
violations.
G-5
APPENDIX H
Weights and Measures

FY 2024
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
FY 2024
ACP’s Weights and Measures Program provides standards for private industry which
discourage unfair and dishonest commerce. TDA also adopts rules and regulations to help
eliminate fraud and misrepresentation in commercial transactions. To verify that weighing
and measuring devices are fair and accurate, TDA inspects weighing devices and
measuring devices to ensure the devices’ performance is within acceptable tolerances.
TDA also inspects packaging and product pricing to enforce net content and labeling
regulations. The Weights and Measures Program inspections build consumer confidence
and provides marketplace equity for businesses.
Device Inspections
The number of routine device inspections for TDA to complete within each fiscal year is set
by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB). TDA Regions are then assigned a portion of the
performance measure based on the number of licensees, compliance history for the type of
license, and any statutory requirements. Additionally, new weights and measures
licensees have their first routine inspection within one year of license issuance. Regional
management ensures that all inspections are performed in a timely manner.
Package and Price Verification Inspections
Package and Price Verification inspections are like Device Inspections in that the total
number is defined in the LBB performance measure for price and package verification
inspections. The inspections are then allocated between the regional offices.
Complaint device inspections are received at the Austin office and at the five regional
offices. Each complaint inspection is assigned to an inspector by regional management.
Inspections are completed within the assigned timeframe.
C. Weights and Measures Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Table 1 represents the Weights and Measures Program’s Inspection Strategic Plan for FY
2024. Per Texas Agriculture Code Title 2 §13.101(a), devices are to be inspected once
every four years. As discussed in Section III of the main report, performance measures for
this program are set by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic plan.
As of March 2023, there were 92,619 licensed devices at 14,931 facilities spread
throughout Texas. The Texas Agriculture Code specifies that the devices are to be
inspected once every four years, which is 23,154 devices inspected per year. The LBB
performance measure requires 40,000 device inspections each year, which is equivalent to
H-2
an inspection once every 2.3 years, a standard that offers more protection to the citizens of
Texas.
The LBB performance measure has listed 2,500 package and price verification inspections
annually. The purpose of these inspections is to verify compliance with the label’s stated
contents. There are no statutory or rule requirements outlining the inspection frequency for
these inspection types. ACP has elected to evenly split the LBB performance measure
between the package inspections and price verification inspections.
Since the number of complaints received cannot be predicted in advance of the fiscal year,
the number of complaint inspections in the table below represents an estimate based on
the number of complaints received in past fiscal years.
The following table summarizes only those performance measures for the Weights and
Measures Program that involve inspections to be performed.
Device Inspections 40,000
Package Inspections 1,250
Price Verification Inspections 1,250
Complaint Inspections estimate based on previous years 80
D. Weights and Measures Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

Inspectors send case reports for inspection-based incidents and complaint incidents to
program specialists for review; the program specialist then submits the case file to
Enforcement for further review. Once Enforcement receives the case, TDA’s legal staff
work on the case until resolution/discharge. There are many steps to resolve a case. More
table is for those actions that take place at the program level, namely device inspections,
identification of violations, and submission of inspection reports and samples to
Enforcement. The other table is for finalized/discharged enforcement cases which are
handled by TDA’s Legal Services Division.
Table 2 summarizes the action items that are usually completed within a given fiscal year.
These items are the number of inspections performed, the number of violations found, and
H-3
Inspections Violations Cases Referred
Inspection type
Performed found to Enforcement
Device Inspections 40,103 1,487 99
Package & Price Verification 2,470 525 476
Complaint 88 38 18
Totals 42,661 2,050 593
Table 3 summarizes the enforcement actions that were finalized (discharged) in FY 2022,
which may or may not be the fiscal year when the violation was uncovered by inspectors.
column is a subset of the total cases discharged for the fiscal year. For this report and as
outlined in the Weights and Measures Administrative Penalty Matrix, a major violation is
defined as a penalty with an automatic enhancement for subsequent offenses.
Inspection type Total Cases Cases Discharged
Discharged – Major Violations
Device Inspections 72 0
Package & Price Verification 372 22
Complaint 12 0
Totals 456 22
violations.
H-4
APPENDIX I
Egg Quality
FY 2024
EGG QUALITY
FY 2024
The mission of the Egg Quality Program is to ensure that the eggs sold to Texas
consumers meet TDA and USDA’s quality standards. The Egg Quality Program licenses
individuals and businesses that participate in the Texas egg industry. Inspectors inspect
eggs at packing plants, distribution centers, and retail outlets to ensure compliance with
applicable laws, regulations, and policies. This results in strong consumer confidence that
quality eggs are available in the marketplace.
TDA inspectors conduct egg inspections at retail locations, egg dealer wholesalers, egg
processors, and egg brokers. Performance measures are assigned to each Region to be
completed for the fiscal year. Regional management assigns inspections to individual
inspectors to be completed within an assigned timeframe. Routine inspections of egg
dealers, processors and brokers are completed every fiscal year.
C. Egg Quality Inspections Strategic Plan for FY 2024
Table 1 represents the Egg Quality Program’s Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024. As
discussed in Section III of the main report, performance measures for this program are set
by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in the agency’s strategic plan. In setting the LBB
performance standard, consideration was given to the number of licensed facilities (egg
brokers, dealers, and processors), the number facilities that do not require TDA registration
(convenience stores and grocery stores), and available TDA inspection personnel.
Inspection site selection is weighted toward the grocery and convenience stores since
consumers are directly impacted by any violations found.
The following summarizes the performance measures for the Egg Quality Program for
inspections to be performed.
Egg Inspections 2,200
Egg brokers, egg processors, and egg dealer/wholesalers are required to register with
TDA. No regulations or statutes specify the frequency of inspection for these facilities.
Currently, there are 461 licenses for facilities subject to Egg Law. ACP policy is that TDA-
licensed facilities are inspected every year, on average. The LBB performance measure
includes inspections at registered/licensed facilities as well as inspections carried out at
RNR (registration not required) facilities like grocery stores and convenience stores.
J-2
The number of egg inspections performed may be affected by egg availability due to Highly
Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks. TDA monitors the reported HPAI outbreaks
via the USDA APHIS website.
D. Egg Quality Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022
Inspectors submit inspection reports for inspection-based incidents and complaint incidents
to regional management for review. Regional management review the reports for violations
and if found, submits the case file to Enforcement for further processing. Once
Enforcement receives the case, TDA’s legal staff work on the case until
resolution/discharge. There are many steps to resolve a case. More complex cases take
longer to resolve.
table is for those actions that take place at the program level, namely the number of
inspections, identification of violations, and submitting cases to Enforcement. The other
table is for finalized/discharged enforcement cases which are handled by TDA’s Legal
Services Division.
Table 2 summarizes the action items that take place at the program level. These items are
the number of inspections performed, the number of violations found, and the number of
violations referred to Enforcement.
Cases
Inspections Violations
Inspection type Referred to
Performed Found
Enforcement
Egg Inspections 2,174 206 15
Totals 2,174 206 15
Table 3 summarizes the enforcement actions that were finalized (discharged) in FY 2022.
column is a subset of the total cases discharged for the fiscal year. For this report, a major
violation is defined as a violation that has an automatic enhancement for subsequent
offenses.
Inspection type Total Cases Cases Discharged
Discharged – Major Violations
Egg Inspections 10 0
Totals 10 0
violations.
J-3
APPENDIX J
Comments and Responses for the

FY 2024 Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plan
COMMENTS AND RESPONSES FOR THE
DRAFT INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
ACP published a draft Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plan for FY 2024 on TDA’s
website, www.texasagriculture.gov. There was a 30-day comment period. ACP emailed
affected industry marketing groups directly to solicit their opinions as well. Three comment
letters were received: BASF Corporation (BASF), Texas Seed Trade Association (TSTA),
and Texas Pest Control Association (TPCA). The following is a summary of comments
received edited for length and clarity and ACP responses:
1. COMMENT: I have several suggestions for improving the wording to be more effective.
I focused on the SPCS section as that is what I am involved with. (BASF)
RESPONSE: Thank you for your careful attention to the report’s language. Your
suggestions have been incorporated into the report, as applicable.
2. COMMENT: A significant portion of wheat planted every fall in Texas is sourced from
public breeding programs. It is calculated that 80% or more of the publicly sourced
wheat seed planted in Texas is “brown-bag” seed. Grain (animal feed) sold by local
grain elevator operators can be utilized as brown-bag seed. There is no assurance of
the quality and type of seed being purchased, no testing whatsoever of germination or
purity, no seed subjected to sampling, no laboratory analysis of any kind, and no
characterization of weed seed content for ‘grain’. If elevator operators desire to continue
the practice, several requirements should be addressed, and several business and
technical practices altered or enacted to assure proper labeling and to verify the quality
of the seed. Anything that circumvents the TDA’s seed quality system is theft of
intellectual property and weakens the efforts of our plant breeders. (TSTA)
RESPONSE: Thank you for articulating this marketplace issue. TDA is always open to
hear suggestions on procedural and rule updates and changes. In addition, it is
important for the Department to hear firsthand of happenings in the industry that affect
those being regulated by the Department. Equity in the industry plays just as vital a role
as consumer protection. We are committed to investigating these issues as we are
made aware of them.
If you or your constituents know of specific incidents of these type of transactions taking
place, we encourage you to file a complaint at 1-800-TELLTDA or on our website at
www.texasagriculture.gov.
3. COMMENT: Based on the research conducted, does TDA think that the fines are high
enough to deter offenders from repeated violations? (TPCA)
RESPONSE: We do believe fines are high enough to deter most offenders from repeat
violations. For those offenders who repeat violations, TDA accounts for them by
J-2
escalating fines within our penalty matrix. See Section 1951.602(a) (Civil Penalty;
Injunction) of the Texas Occupations Code.
4. COMMENT: Could creating a self-reporting/auditing program for previous non-
offenders allow ACP to focus on other pest control operations that require more
attention? (TPCA)
RESPONSE: The current inspection frequency prescribed by statute of inspecting a
business in its first year of operation and at least once every four years afterwards. This
inspection frequency allows the Department to focus more frequent inspections on
PCOs that require more attention while inspecting non-offenders once every four years,
thus assuring they continue to be non-offenders.
5. COMMENT: If the LBB has tasked TDA with inspections or benchmarks that do not
yield actionable data for the department, would it be possible for ACP to request a
waiver or deferral on those inspections? (TPCA)
RESPONSE: The SPCS LBB requirements are reasonable and yield actionable data
for the department. Routine inspections of businesses have yielded a high number of
Inspection Based Incidents (IBI’s). TDA is given the opportunity to suggest revisions to
the LBB goals and has done so with success, allowing for inspections to be
concentrated where needed.
J-3

FY2024

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

FY2024

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

FY2024

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Texas Department of Agriculture

Agriculture and Consumer Protection Division

I. About the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Division (ACP)

II. Annual Inspection and Enforcement Strategic Plan (SB 703)

B. Organic Certification Program

C. Seed Quality Programs (Seed Certification, Seed Law, Seed Arbitration)

D. Grain Warehouse Program

E. Handling and Marketing of Perishable Commodities (HMPC) Program

F. Agricultural Pesticide Use and Applications Program

G. Plant Quality Programs

H. Weights and Measures Program

I. Egg Quality Program

J. Comments and Responses

Structural Pest Control Service (SPCS)

If the commercial business provides termite or structural fumigation services, the

E. SPCS Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

TOTAL NOVS AND Warnings IN FY-2022 302

Seed Certification and Seed Law

D. Seed Certification and Seed Law Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

Table 3 summarizes the enforcement actions that were finalized (discharged) in FY

Seed Law Case Basis 145 9

Seed Law Sample Basis 324 13

There were no cases/samples discharged in FY 2022 were violators with repeat

Table 1 – Inspection Strategic Plan for FY 2024

D. Grain Warehouse Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

Table 3 summarizes the enforcement actions that were finalized (discharged) in FY

Handling and Marketing of Perishable Commodities (HMPC)

D. HMPC Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

D. Agriculture Pesticide Violations Found and Enforcement Actions During FY 2022

Table 3 summarizes the enforcement actions that were finalized (discharged) in FY

Weights and Measures

D. Weights and Measures Violations and Enforcement in FY 2022

Comments and Responses for the

You might also like