Farmland Atlas · county record

De Baca County, New Mexico

De Baca County, NM: irrigated cash rent $194 an acre (2026); land and buildings $385 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 35011. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

In De Baca County, 87 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, and 21 percent of irrigation water came from groundwater in 2015. The July average nightly low was 64.1 F under the 1991-2020 normal and 65.6 F for 2017-2026, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.81 F per decade, warming. No July since 1900 has averaged a low at or above 70 F. Drought was heavy in the 2000-2025 stretch, with 390 of 1357 weeks at 50 percent or more of the county in severe drought or worse, and 2012 was the worst year at 52 weeks; 97 of those weeks fell in 2021-2025. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities was 27 percent in 2010-2019 and 39 percent in 2020-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
no dry rent published
Cash rent, irrigated
$194/ac
2026 county average
NM median $175 · 3rd highest of 9
Land and buildings
$385/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NM median $784 · 2nd lowest of 30
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
41%
2022 census, rented from others
NM median 26% · 4th highest of 30

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$146$194 irrigated

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Irrigated, 2026$194/acno dry rent published

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$385/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$247/ac
Census 2017$375/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+2.7%+0.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 2011. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in.

Largest causes of loss, 2011–2021freeze 35% · heat and drought 33% · other 19%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020254525

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–2025390 of 1,357 weeks29% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201252 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202597 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.6 °F1991–2020 normal 64.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.81 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September9.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 99% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202287%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland150 ac
Farmed no-till, 202216% of cropland2,318 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202147790,662

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 202590,662 ac91.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–2028530 ac1% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$13/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202217,719−52.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202241%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
De Baca County—$194$385—
Chaves County—$175$887$10.03
Guadalupe County—$122 2023$379—
Lincoln County——$915—
Quay County$11$62$783$50.68
Roosevelt County$19$122$1,039$50.33
Median next door$15 2 co.$122$887$50.33

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. De Baca County, New Mexico. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/new-mexico/de-baca-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.