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AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 801 original drilling permits in September 2021 compared to 437 in September 2020. The total includes 714 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, four to re-enter plugged wellbores, and 77 for recompletions of existing wellbores. The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in September 2021 is 179 oil, 77 gas, 502 oil or gas, 38 injection, and five other permits. In September 2021, the RRC processed 581 oil, 158 gas, and 265 injection completions for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions, compared to 902 oil, 147 gas, and 119 injection completions in September 2020. Total well completions processed for 2021 yearto-date for new drills, re-entries, and recompletions are 7,016 compared to 11,917 during the same period in 2020. In the Panhandle, the RRC processed 21 permits to drill new oil/gas holes, and received reports of seven new oil completions and two new gas completions.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently seeking applicants for collegiate student internships across Texas. Student trainee positions include soil conservationists, rangeland management specialists, and engineers.

USDA expands local, electronic communication options TEMPLE—Agricultural producers in Texas can now sign up to receive free email and text messages directly from their local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) service center for information related to loans, farm disaster assistance, conservation programs, crop insurance, and other USDA programs.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced today he will send cities, counties, transit systems, and specialpurpose taxing districts $906.6 million in local sales tax allocations for October, 20.6 percent more than in October 2020. These allocations are based on sales made in August by businesses that report tax monthly.

DALLAS—Five subsidiaries of West Texas Gas Inc. will spend up to $5 million on compliance measures in a settlement that resolves allegations in the United States’ complaint, last week, that they violated federal Clean Air Act chemical accident prevention requirements at several of their natural gas processing plants. The companies will pay more than $3 million in civil penalties to resolve claims stemming from fatal chemical accidents and accident prevention program violations.

WASHINGTON—Today, Congressmen Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and Filemon Vela (D-TX) introduced the bipartisan Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, which would combat foreign interference in America’s agriculture supply chain through reforms to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate. “Foreign interference in America’s agriculture supply chain poses a serious national security threat, especially given that the worst proponent is the Chinese Communist Party,” Jackson said. I represent the top-rated agriculture district in Texas, so protecting this vital industry and its overarching supply chains will always be among my top priorities in Congress. Our adversaries are working overtime to undermine American interests, and the FARM Act will be an important step to secure America’s food supply by identifying and responding to inappropriate interference.” The bill text can be found here. Additional background from Bill Thompson of Agri-Pulse can be found online at https://jackson.house.gov/uploadedfiles/farm_act_bill_text.pdf. Jackson serves as Co-Chair of the Texas Agriculture Task Force.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.15 billion in September, 22.3 percent more than in September 2020. The majority of September sales tax revenue is based on sales made in August and remitted to the agency in September.

Speakers of international, national, state, and regional prominence will talk on shifting the hope-diminishing paradigm that the Ogallala aquifer must inevitably be depleted to zero during Coming Together Around the Water Table, a day-long discussion and tour to be held Oct. 27, from 9 am to 5 pm, at the Hereford Civic Center. The Hereford event will conclude over a month of Regenerate 2021 field days being hosted by a collaboration of Holistic Management International, the Quivira Coalition, and the American Grassfed Association. Sponsors for the Hereford event will also include the Dixon Water Foundation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, NCAT Soil for Water, and the Tecovas Foundation. Topics for the field days are related to the overall theme of Weaving Water, Land, and People. Advance registration for the Hereford session, priced at $50 including lunch, is now underway by calling the Quivira Coalition office at 505.820.2544 or by emailing conference@quiviracoalition.org. Registration deadline is Oct. 20.

Rangelands in the Great Plains, and the ranchers who depend on them, are losing battles against an invasion of brush and shrubs on historical grasslands. Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist Brad Wilcox is among a group of researchers, extension specialists, and educators who hope pyric herbivory will one day become a routine point of conversation in rangeland conservation and wildfire mitigation.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced last week that he was sending cities, counties, transit systems, and special-purpose taxing districts $925.1 million in local sales tax allocations for September, 20.9 percent more than in September 2020.