Every spring offers the country an opportunity to step back for a moment and say thanks for all their hard work during National Agriculture Week. This year it runs March 18-24. It's easy to take for granted the abundant and safe food supply available to us every time we open our refrigerator or the plentiful supplies of clothes, furniture and plants to brighten our lives.
Agriculture also has a major impact on our state's economy.
It produces about 16 percent of the gross state product. Nearly 80 percent of the total land area in Texas is in some type of agricultural production and Texas ranks first in the nation for the number of farms and ranches. True to its past, agriculture remains largely a family endeavor. The properties have remained in the family and in continuous agricultural production the entire time, making them the first 200-year honorees in the Texas Department of Agriculture's Family Land Heritage Program. Villarreal's grandfather was the first rancher in Starr County to pay taxes and even donated one acre of his property for a schoolhouse.