Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called on Governor Greg Abbott to donate any campaign contributions he has received from data center developers, operators, and affiliated interests to the AgriStress Helpline, which provides crisis support and mental health resources to farmers, ranchers, and others in the agricultural community.
Miller has repeatedly raised concerns about the rapid expansion of massive data center projects across Texas and their impact on the state’s water supplies, electric grid, agricultural land, and rural communities.
“Gov. Abbott has rolled out the red carpet for data centers while farmers and ranchers across Texas are being asked to compete with these massive facilities for water and reliable electricity,” said Miller. “The governor has taken campaign money from the very interests benefiting from this data center rush, and I’ve got a simple suggestion to restore faith in our system: give it to the farmers and ranchers who are being asked to shoulder the burden and donate every dime of those contributions to the AgriStress Helpline.”
According to Miller, producers deal with drought, high input costs, volatile markets, natural disasters, and pressures most folks will never understand. Now many rural Texans are watching enormous industrial developments arrive in their communities with an appetite for water and power that concerns every Texan.
“The AgriStress Helpline does important work helping agricultural producers through some of the hardest moments of their lives,” said Miller. “If Big Tech and the data center industry have money to try to buy influence in Austin, then let’s put some of that money to work helping the Texans who grow our food, raise our livestock, and make rural Texas a great place to live.
“I continue to believe Abbott should call a special session so the legislature can address the unchecked growth of data centers and establish meaningful protections for Texas water, farmland, rural communities, and our electric grid. Until then, Governor, write the check and redirect that data center money to help communities in need. Texas agriculture was here before the data centers, and it’ll be here long after they’re gone. It’s our job to make sure of it.”