KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Kaufman County received a $15,000 County Hog Out Management Program (CHOMP) grant due to the county’s participation in an abatement program earlier this year.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Kaufman County received a $15,000 County Hog Out Management Program (CHOMP) grant due to the county’s participation in an abatement program earlier this year.
“[Kaufman County] has a tremendous problem with feral hogs, as does the rest of the State of Texas,” Ralph Davis, Texas A&M County Extension Agent, told the commissioners’ court on Monday.
“Texas agriculture mattes in each of our lives, and we must protect our state’s most vital industry from these destructive animals,” a letter from the Texas Department of Agriculture, which administers the grants, stated. “Each year in Texas, feral hogs cause an estimated $500 million in damage to public and private property, as well as agricultural lands.”
Davis says the grant money will be used to purchase two Boar Buster traps, and possibly two small trailers, which will be made available to Kaufman County landowners and producers.
A waiting list is expected for landowners hoping to utilize the traps, according to Davis who said a training course, deposit, and a monthly subscription to a live video service, which will monitor the traps, will likely be requirements for use.
For more information, contact the Kaufman County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office at (972) 932-9069.
