Farmland Atlas · county record

Hidalgo County, New Mexico

Hidalgo County, NM: irrigated cash rent $117 an acre (2020); land and buildings $414 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 0.46 since 1996. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 35023. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Groundwater supplies 90 percent of irrigation water here, a fact worth sitting with given the drought record. Severe drought or worse covered 491 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, and 203 weeks from 2021-2025, with 2024 the worst single year at 53 weeks. July nightly lows averaged 65.9 F from 2017-2026, up from the 64.8 F normal for 1991-2020, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.58 F per decade, warming. The 2020s is the first decade the July average low reached 66 F.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
no dry rent published
Cash rent, irrigated
$117/ac
2020 county average
too few 2020 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$414/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NM median $784 · 5th lowest of 30
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$2.52
2016–2025, closed crop years
NM median $14.53 · lowest of 12
Farmland rented
27%
2022 census, rented from others
NM median 26% · 14th highest of 30

Cash rent

$0$50$100$15020122014201620182020$60$117 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, 2020$117/acno dry rent published

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$414/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$248/ac
Change 2012 to 2022+66.9%+5.3% 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 1993. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$2.52
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.60claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1993–20250.46$1.1 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1996–2024other 37% · wind 16% · price decline (revenue policies) 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202575352

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, 2000–2025491 of 1,357 weeks36% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202453 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025203 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.9 °F1991–2020 normal 64.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.58 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September7.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 89% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS published no harvested cropland for this county
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland470 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202106,9856,985

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

CRP enrolled, 20256,985 ac
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$13/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202218,935−16.6% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202227%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Hidalgo County—$414$2.52
Cochise County, AZ$93 2024$2,695$7.67
Greenlee County, AZ—$5,515—
Grant County—$575—
Luna County$248$796$20.46
Median next door$248 1 co.$1,746$14.07 2 co.

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. Hidalgo 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/hidalgo-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.