Lea County, New Mexico
Lea County, NM: irrigated cash rent $129 an acre (2024); land and buildings $979 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 1.83 since 1989. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 35025. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Water is the story in Lea County. Irrigation covers 82 percent of harvested cropland, and all of it draws from groundwater, 100 percent, as of 2015. The July nightly low has moved from a 65.8 F normal to 67.1 F over 2017-2026, part of a 0.72 F per decade warming trend since 1976, and the county first reached a 66 F July average low in the 2010s.
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
NM median $784 · 7th highest of 30
NM median $14.53 · 3rd highest of 12
NM median 26% · 2nd highest of 30
Cash rent
Land value
Corn yield
Crop insurance record
Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lea County | — | $129 2024 | $979 | $40.09 |
| Chaves County | — | $175 | $887 | $10.03 |
| Eddy County | — | $110 | $907 | $5.29 |
| Roosevelt County | $19 | $122 | $1,039 | $50.33 |
| Andrews County, TX | — | — | $1,595 | $61.68 |
| Cochran County, TX | $34 | $140 2023 | $1,417 | $52.69 |
| Gaines County, TX | $51 | $190 | $1,436 | $52.08 |
| Loving County, TX | — | — | $1,671 | — |
| Winkler County, TX | — | — | $1,520 | — |
| Yoakum County, TX | $30 | $158 | $1,606 | $46.84 |
| Median next door | $32 | $158 | $1,436 | $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. Lea 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/lea-countyEvery 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.