Farmland Atlas · county record

Socorro County, New Mexico

Socorro County, NM: irrigated cash rent $181 an acre (2024); land and buildings $768 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 35053. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Socorro County irrigates 72 percent of harvested cropland, with 22 percent of that water coming from groundwater as of 2015. Land value sits at $768 per acre in the 2022 census, up 22.3 percent from 2017-2022, or 4.1 percent a year. Drought pressure has been steady: 398 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025 saw at least 50 percent of the county in severe drought or worse, 29.3 percent of weeks, with 2012 the worst year at 45 weeks; the 2021-2025 span logged 124 such weeks. July nights have warmed, from a 59.5 F normal (1991-2020) to 61.2 F over 2017-2026, a trend of 0.96 F per decade since 1976. No solar or wind capacity operates or is proposed here.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
no dry rent published
Cash rent, irrigated
$181/ac
2024 county average
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$768/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NM median $784 · 14th 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
37%
2022 census, rented from others
NM median 26% · 9th highest of 30

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200201020152020$107$181 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, 2024$181/acno dry rent published

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$768/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$493/ac
Census 2017$628/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+22.3%+4.1% 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 2013. 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

20002005201020152020202554543

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, 2000–2025398 of 1,357 weeks29% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201245 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025124 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202661.2 °F1991–2020 normal 59.5 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.96 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September7.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 89% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202272%
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland817 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202102,637

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,637 ac18.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$13/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202235,328−16.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202237%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyIrr. rentLand value
Socorro County$181 2024$768
Catron County—$620
Cibola County—$406
Lincoln County—$915
Sierra County$173 2025$406
Torrance County$102 2024$784
Valencia County$156$1,055
Median next door$156 1 co.$702

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. Socorro 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/socorro-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.