Gill visits Cooke County farm; talks cover screwworm, feral hogs, input costs

U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill visited the Cooke County farm of Jared Bayer, a Cooke County Farm Bureau member, during the August congressional recess. Texas Farm Bureau's account of the stop says the two discussed input costs, feral hogs, New World screwworm, trade and taxes.

Parts of Cooke County are in Texas' 26th Congressional District, which Gill represents. His official House office, in a release marking his swearing-in for the 26th District, says the district also covers portions of Denton, Wise and Tarrant counties.

The House Press Gallery's 2026 calendar listed the chamber in a district work period, the stretch set aside for members to work in the areas they represent, with the next votes expected Aug. 31.

Cooke County's farm economy runs mostly on livestock. USDA's 2022 Census of Agriculture, the most recent federal count, recorded 2,188 farms in the county and 513,278 acres of land in farms. Agricultural sales came to $109.452 million for the census year. Livestock, poultry and related products accounted for 82% of that total, according to the census profile for the county.

New World screwworm, one of the topics on Texas Farm Bureau's list, has already been confirmed inside the state. The Texas Animal Health Commission says the first Texas detection was verified in a Zavala County calf on June 3, 2026, and that it followed the pest's earlier spread northward through Mexico. The commission tracks the parasite on an emergency page where it posts detection and response information.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension runs the statewide feral hog management framework and calls the animals invasive, saying they damage agricultural operations, natural resources, wildlife habitat and human property. The Texas Department of Agriculture says appropriations for feral hog abatement were transferred to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension-Wildlife Services after the 85th Legislature. Landowners and counties seeking help through that program are pointed to AgriLife rather than the state agriculture department, according to the department.

Input costs, trade and taxes rounded out the topics Texas Farm Bureau reported from the visit. One prior tax-and-spending vote in the public record is Gill's July 3, 2025 aye on H.R. 1. The House Clerk's roll call for that day records him voting aye as the chamber concurred in the Senate amendment to the bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed 218-214.

Texas Farm Bureau published its account of the farm visit on its website.