Farmers Ask Officials to Stop Rail Yard
“Rows of cotton that have been picked by the same family for generations sit in the shadow of a railroad track in Mumford, a small farming community about 22 miles northeast of College Station in the Brazos River Valley. The cotton is starting to bloom and Frank DeStefano, who farms the land along with three brothers, said it will be a beautiful sight in a few weeks.
DeStefano also said this might be one of the last seasons they grow crops on this land. Union Pacific Railroad has bought about 700 acres of the land DeStefano’s family leases to grow cotton, and the company says it is considering building a rail yard in the area to service the railroad.
“It’s going to change the way of life here in this community — this is a farming community, and it is going to become an industrial community,” DeStefano said. “For the people who live here, there’s not going to be nighttime. There’s going to be noise and lights constantly.””
Blanchard, Bobby. Texas Tribune 4 September 2014.