TX Agriculture Commissioner - Much Land Near Galveston & Houston Out Of Production At Least 1 Year

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Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples on Wednesday spotted at least 100 cattle roaming free — along with about a dozen that died — during an aerial survey of the damage. "The death losses will continue to mount over the next few days," Staples said.

Thousands of acres of prime cattle and farm country in Southeast Texas will be unproductive for at least a year because of the hurricane, he said. "This is going to be a long and bumpy road to recovery," Staples said. But, "Texans are a resilient bunch."

Anahuac rancher Bruce Vanvinkle said he lost about 290 rolls of hay because of Hurricane Ike. "My barn is pretty much destroyed," said Vanvinkle, who stayed in the Dallas area during the storm. "I've got a lot of stuff missing."

On Wednesday, ranchers affected by Ike lined up in Anahuac to receive hay and feed donated by other Texas agriculture producers. "When people are in trouble, you just try to help them out," said Vanvinkle. "I would hope that we would do the same for them."

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6008127.html