Business

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has started making payments through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program–Plus (WHIP+) to agricultural producers who suffered eligible losses because of drought or excess moisture in 2018 and 2019.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced this week that he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $824.1 million in local sales tax allocations for May—down 5 percent from payments made in May 2019. These allocations are based on sales made in March by businesses that report tax monthly, and sales made in January, February and March by quarterly filers.

FORT WORTH—Robert McKnight, Jr., president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), issued the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order to invoke the Defense Protection Act and keep beef processors open during the COVID-19 pandemic: “On behalf of cattle producers and beef consumers across the country, I would like to thank President Trump for his executive action to keep beef processors open amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining the viability of the beef supply chain has been TSCRA’s top priority since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Though fears of a shortage were largely unfounded, rumors can be self-perpetuating and cause over-buying of a product out of panic. Today’s action should go a long way toward easing consumer fear.”

This week, President Donald J. Trump is enacting the Defense Production Act to ensure that Americans have a reliable supply of products like beef, pork, and poultry. The presidentsigned an executive order providing the authority to ensure the continued supply of beef, pork, and poultry to the American people. Under the order, the Department of Agriculture is directed to ensure America’s meat and poultry processors continue operations uninterrupted to the maximum extent possible.

Texas oil regulators will decide at a public meeting on Tuesday whether to cut oil production, as plummeting global demand has already impacted the oil and gas sector in Texas.