USDA Awards $6.3 Million to Partnership Projects in Texas to Combat Feral Swine on American Agricultural Lands

(Temple, Texas Nov. 5, 2026) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $51.9 million to 29 partnership projects in 13 states to help partners respond to the threat feral swine pose to American agriculture, landscapes and human and livestock health. This includes $6.3 million awarded to four projects in Texas. The awarded projects are part of a broader $105 million investment for the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program, where USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) are working together to target feral swine.

“Feral swine pose a threat to America’s working lands, and through this program, we’re bringing together America’s agricultural producers and partners to combat feral swine and protect agricultural landscapes,” said Texas Acting State Conservationist Clint Evans. “The selected projects in Texas will take critical steps to eradicate and control feral swine.”

Projects were awarded in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The funding for the projects was provided by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which delivers the largest long-term investment in NRCS conservation programs in decades.

Selected Projects

The selected projects in Texas are:

• Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB): Three projects were awarded across Baylor, Brown, Coleman, Fannin, Haskell, Knox, Lamar, Runnels and Red River counties. The projects’ goals are to reduce the population of feral swine so it can be controlled by trained and equipped local landowners using practical, science-based information and coordinated management strategies. Over the five-year project period, TSSWCB expects to directly engage roughly 200 producers and affect approximately 1 million working acres.
• White Buffalo, Inc.: The purpose of this project is to determine, with scientific rigor, whether feral swine remain in Sherman County, remove any that do, and document a method for declaring elimination that other counties and states can use. This is a surveillance and confirmation project, not a population-reduction project. By the end of 2028, the project expects to have reached every agricultural operation in Sherman County, engaged 25 to 30 producers directly, investigated every report received, supported two APHIS aerial surveys, and either confirmed that feral swine have been eliminated from the county or located and removed the remnant population that remains.

Feral swine can have significant negative impacts on plant and wildlife habitats, soils, water quality, as well as other natural resources. Livestock and humans are also susceptible to diseases carried by feral swine.

The partners selected to participate in the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program will provide landowner assistance for restoration and on-farm trapping efforts and provide related services, like training. Funding for these services will be provided through grant agreements between partners and NRCS.

All projects will be a collaborative and coordinated effort among the selected partner, NRCS and APHIS.

More Information about the Pilot Program

Since 2020, NRCS has invested $92.9 million in 63 projects as part of the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. These projects have assisted more than 6,700 landowners on almost 9 million acres to help reduce feral swine damage. Additionally, partners have conducted more than 800 events related to teaching trapping techniques to landowners.

For more information on the program and to find pilot projects, visit NRCS’s Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program webpage.

For more than 90 years, NRCS has helped farmers, ranchers and forestland owners make investments in their operations and local communities to improve the quality of our air, water, soil, and wildlife habitat.  NRCS uses the latest science and technology to help keep working lands working, boost agricultural economies, and increase the competitiveness of American agriculture. NRCS provides one-on-one, technical assistance and financial assistance and works with producers to help them reach their goals through voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs. For more information, visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.