TNLA Brings Green Industry Priorities Before Texas House Agriculture Committee

Texas green industry businesses are facing rising production costs, persistent workforce challenges, and an increasingly unpredictable operating environment. The Texas Nursery and Landscape Association is making sure state lawmakers understand what those pressures mean for our members and what Texas can do to help keep the industry competitive.

On August 18, TNLA submitted written testimony on behalf of the Texas green industry to the Texas House Committee on Agriculture and Livestock as the committee examined the resiliency and future competitiveness of Texas agriculture.
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TNLA thanks Chairman Ryan Guillen for holding the hearing and providing Texas agricultural industries the opportunity to share the economic and regulatory challenges affecting their businesses.

Putting the Green Industry’s Economic Impact on the Record

​In its written testimony, TNLA highlighted the green industry’s significant role in Texas agriculture and the broader state economy.

According to a 2025 Texas A&M University economic impact study, the Texas green industry supports 224,490 jobs and generates $35 billion in total economic output. Nursery and greenhouse crops also rank as Texas’ third-largest plant-based agricultural commodity by cash receipts, behind only cotton and corn.
But the cost of doing business continues to climb.
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Production costs for nursery and greenhouse growers increased 67% between 2007 and 2025, including increases of 95% for labor, 68% for containers and 67% for freight. At the same time, industry operating margins have tightened, leaving businesses with less room to absorb additional costs or uncertainty.

What TNLA Asked Lawmakers to Consider

In its written testimony, TNLA urged lawmakers to consider several practical solutions that could strengthen the long-term resiliency of growers, suppliers and landscape businesses:

• Fair property-tax treatment for agricultural production inputs, including seeds, fertilizer and pesticides held by growers as essential production inventory. TNLA specifically highlighted legislation similar to Chairman Guillen’s HJR 31 and HB 255 from the 89th Legislature.
• Workforce-development pipelines supporting careers in agriculture, horticulture and the landscape trades.
• Efficient processing of H-2A and H-2B applications to help businesses that depend on seasonal labor navigate federal workforce programs.
• Greater regulatory and economic predictability so Texas businesses can better plan, invest and grow.

These recommendations reflect a challenge TNLA members know well: businesses can adapt to changing markets, but planning and investing become much more difficult when labor costs, trade policy, regulatory requirements, and other major expenses remain uncertain.

Working for You

The House Agriculture and Livestock Committee’s interim work will help inform legislative discussions heading into the next legislative session. TNLA will continue engaging lawmakers throughout that process to ensure the green industry’s perspective is represented.

Our members grow the plants, supply the materials, build the landscapes and maintain the green spaces Texans interact with every day. TNLA will continue making sure policymakers understand both the industry’s significant contribution to the Texas economy and what our businesses need to remain resilient and competitive.

Read TNLA’s full written testimony below.

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