Written by Kinsey Gardner, TPPA Summer Intern
LUBBOCK, TEXAS June 6, 2025 – Texas Pork Producers Association (TPPA) supported the passage of Senate Bill No. 1948 on May 22nd, which states that Texas legislation will not adopt the Fire Code 2025 Edition portion that advises all production agriculture nonresidential buildings to uphold a sprinkler system.
In 2024, the National Fire Protection Association introduced a new fire code that requires all newly built animal housing barns or major buildings on production agriculture farms to be equipped with sprinkler systems. This same change to the fire code was presented in 2012, but was denied. This year, it took more of a fight to ensure this wasn’t adopted by our state.
This regulation would cost producers approximately $9-$15 per square foot to install and keep current. Not only would this put a monetary burden on those building and updating their facilities, but the repercussions of these systems failing would be much worse if one of these sprinkler systems were have issues such as break and flood the barn, prevent ventilation systems from working correctly, or depleting water sources from limited supply area if a leak were to occur.
TPPA’s mission in supporting Senate Bill 1948, along with Texas Poultry Federation, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Association of Dairymen, Texas Farm Bureau, and several other agricultural groups, was to push the Texas legislature not to adopt this certain fire code given the option. With the help of our contract lobbyist, Martin Hubert of Cornerstone Government Affairs, as well as Sen. Charles Perry and Rep. Trent Ashby, we were able to successfully deny this fire code that would have caused major issues in Texas’s agriculture industry.
The official bill reads that the state will not enforce or adopt the ordinance to require installation of sprinklers in an agricultural pole barn, a nonresidential farm building, a cotton gin, a cottonseed storage building, a grain storage facility, a livestock market, or a commercial feed mill.
“Protecting swine producers’ freedom to operate is a priority for TPPA,” said TPPA Executive Director, Colby Ferguson. “TPPA will continue to address threats that limit the ability of our producers to farm and will keep our producers at the forefront.”