The TDA serves Texas farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and the Future Farmers of America. Its 660 employees work on food safety, rural economic development, agriculture inspections, and the programs that support family farms across the state. Its IT operation, however, is staffed almost entirely through H-1B vendors — 11 visa workers from 5 outside firms, with 5 duplicate case numbers in just 11 petitions.
Texas farmers depend on the Department of Agriculture to inspect their products, enforce fair market rules, and run the programs that keep rural Texas alive. The agency's IT systems support all of that. And every single IT worker brought in under H-1B sponsorship this year came through a staffing firm — not one was hired directly as a Texas employee.
The agency's average employee salary is $74,087 — the lowest of any agency in this series. The H-1B vendors are billing an average of $97,897 for the same work. Meanwhile, the filing quality is the worst we have seen: 5 duplicate case numbers in 11 petitions, one vendor filing an hourly rate to obscure annual cost, and two different job titles used for what appears to be the same .NET programming role.
| Ethnicity | Employees | % of Agency | Avg Salary | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHITE | 312 | 47.3% | $74,692 | |
| HISPANIC | 181 | 27.4% | $69,227 | |
| BLACK | 99 | 15% | $78,094 | |
| OTHER | 38 | 5.8% | $79,399 | |
| ASIAN | 27 | 4.1% | $73,207 | |
| AM INDIAN | 3 | 0.5% | $112,758 |
| Ethnicity | <$50K | $50–75K | $75–100K | $100–150K | >$150K | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHITE | 42 | 156 | 76 | 29 | 9 | 312 |
| HISPANIC | 42 | 86 | 35 | 16 | 2 | 181 |
| BLACK | 12 | 51 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 99 |
| OTHER | 7 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 38 |
| ASIAN | 3 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 27 |
| AM INDIAN | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Vendor | Job Title | Wage | Unit | Level | Qtr | Status | Case Number | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solware IT Technologies LLC | .NET Developer | $114,754 | Year | II | Q2 | Certified | I-200-25336-449073 | DUP |
| Solware IT Technologies LLC | .Net Programmer | $76,315 | Year | II | Q2 | Certified | I-200-25308-371243 | DUP |
| Solware IT Technologies LLC | .Net Programmer | $76,315 | Year | II | Q1 | Certified | I-200-25308-371243 | DUP |
| AMMADAR, LLC | Software Programmer | $45.73 | Hour | III | Q2 | Certified | I-200-25326-431063 | DUP · HR |
| AMMADAR, LLC | Software Programmer | $45.73 | Hour | III | Q1 | Certified | I-200-25326-431063 | DUP · HR |
| COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP, INC | Software Developer | $106,000 | Year | II | Q2 | Certified | I-200-25307-365494 | DUP |
| COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP, INC | Software Developer | $106,000 | Year | II | Q1 | Certified | I-200-25307-365494 | DUP |
| KEYSTONE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS INC | Software Developer | $112,923 | Year | II | Q2 | Certified | I-200-25307-365139 | DUP |
| KEYSTONE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS INC | Software Developer | $112,923 | Year | II | Q1 | Certified | I-200-25307-365139 | DUP |
| SYSTECHCORP, INC. | Business Analyst | $90,700 | Year | II | Q2 | Certified | I-200-25308-371243 | DUP |
| SYSTECHCORP, INC. | Business Analyst | $90,700 | Year | II | Q1 | Certified | I-200-25308-371243 | DUP |
| Class Code | Title | Employees | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1322 | INSPECTOR II | 47 | $49,826 |
| 1326 | INSPECTOR VI | 32 | $65,722 |
| 1401 | COMPLIANCE ANALYST II | 32 | $70,190 |
| 1572 | PROGRAM SPECIALIST III | 26 | $59,673 |
| 1573 | PROGRAM SPECIALIST IV | 21 | $65,913 |
| 1321 | INSPECTOR I | 21 | $43,348 |
| 1324 | INSPECTOR IV | 20 | $52,579 |
| 1588 | PROGRAM SUPERVISOR VI | 20 | $97,607 |
| 1621 | DIRECTOR II | 19 | $129,869 |
| 1785 | TRAINING AND DEV SPEC V | 16 | $71,110 |
| 1921 | GRANT SPECIALIST III | 15 | $66,188 |
| 1620 | DIRECTOR I | 14 | $111,345 |
| 1323 | INSPECTOR III | 13 | $53,169 |
| 1603 | MANAGER IV | 13 | $87,307 |
| 1570 | PROGRAM SPECIALIST I | 13 | $50,642 |
| 1325 | INSPECTOR V | 13 | $59,249 |
| 1825 | MARKETING SPECIALIST IV | 12 | $73,054 |
| 1571 | PROGRAM SPECIALIST II | 11 | $56,015 |
| 1403 | COMPLIANCE ANALYST IV | 9 | $80,333 |
| 1048 | AUDITOR III | 9 | $78,027 |
| Name | Title | Ethnicity | Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| KEEL , TERRENCE | DEPUTY DIRECTOR III | WHITE | $237,313 |
| MALDONADO , SUSAN | GENERAL COUNSEL V | WHITE | $226,397 |
| SMITH , TODD | DEPUTY DIRECTOR II | WHITE | $218,582 |
| PARPOUNAS , MARIOS | DEPUTY DIRECTOR I | WHITE | $218,000 |
| HARRIS-WILSON , LENA | DEPUTY DIRECTOR I | BLACK | $218,000 |
| MURRAY , BRIAN | DIRECTOR V | WHITE | $182,326 |
| ROBINSON , STEPHANIE | DIRECTOR V | OTHER | $176,400 |
| RODGERS , LINDSAY | DIRECTOR V | WHITE | $176,400 |
| SERNA , BERTHA | DIRECTOR V | HISPANIC | $174,000 |
| BUNTON , CHRISTOPHER | DIRECTOR IV | BLACK | $171,328 |
| SANTOS , FRANK | DIRECTOR V | HISPANIC | $170,000 |
| WRIGHT-STEELE , CATHERINE | DIRECTOR IV | WHITE | $169,939 |
| DAVIS , RALPH | DIRECTOR V | OTHER | $160,000 |
| REICHEK , KAREN | DIRECTOR IV | WHITE | $157,768 |
| SCOTT , DALE | DIRECTOR IV | WHITE | $156,000 |
| WRIGHT , PHILIP | DIRECTOR IV | AM INDIAN | $156,000 |
| NUNES , EMILIA | DIRECTOR IV | HISPANIC | $144,000 |
| SMITH , CHRISTINA | DIRECTOR III | BLACK | $144,000 |
| MALDONADO , JUANA | DIRECTOR III | HISPANIC | $141,750 |
| BROWN , STEPHANIE | DIRECTOR III | WHITE | $141,750 |
| TEGBE , ANTHONY | DIRECTOR III | BLACK | $141,038 |
| MILLER , SIDNEY | COMMISSIONER, DEPT OF AGRIC | WHITE | $140,938 |
| WISE , KELLI | DIRECTOR II | WHITE | $139,659 |
| JUERGENS , LARRY | DIRECTOR III | OTHER | $138,663 |
| MADDOX , ALFREDA | DIRECTOR II | BLACK | $138,005 |