Farmland Atlas · county record

Bailey County, Texas

Bailey County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $48 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,912 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48017. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigated cropland rents $124 per acre in Bailey County, against $48 per acre non-irrigated, a multiple of 2.58 in 2026 compared to 2.91 in 2009, with no clear direction. Groundwater supplies 100 percent of irrigation water, and 36 percent of harvested cropland was irrigated in the 2022 census. Heat and drought caused 54 percent of $317.9 million in indemnities across closed crop years 1989-2025, with the share rising from 42 percent in 1989-1999 to 44 percent in 2000-2009 to 62 percent in 2010-2019, then 55 percent in 2020-2025. The county spent 320 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2000-2025, including 52 weeks in 2012 alone. Land value rose 124.4 percent from 2017 to 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$48/ac
2026 county average
TX median $27 · tied for 21st highest of 189
Cash rent, irrigated
$124/ac
2026 county average
TX median $99 · 13th highest of 43
Land and buildings
$1,912/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782 · 83rd lowest of 246
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$42.51
2016–2025, closed crop years
TX median $29.48 · 47th highest of 174
Farmland rented
23%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · 33rd lowest of 251

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$120$1402010201520202025$29$48 dry$85$124 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.

Non-irrigated, 2026$48/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+28.0%nominal, $38 to $48
Irrigated, 2026$124/ac
Pasture, 2026$6/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,912/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$805/ac
Census 2017$852/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+124.4%+17.5% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 36% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

199019952000200520102015202020251.775.890.621.00: claims equal premium

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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$42.51
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.27claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.32$317.9 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium23 of 36
Worst year1992ratio 5.89
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 54% · hail 23% · wind 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020258520

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, 2000–2025320 of 1,357 weeks24% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201252 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202571 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202665.4 °F1991–2020 normal 64.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.60 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September12.7 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 105% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202236%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 20227% of cropland16,049 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland12,338 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202110,501141,22092,272

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

CRP enrolled, 202592,272 ac52.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202829,198 ac32% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$45/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 148.4 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022128,705−1.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202223%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Bailey County$48$124$1,912$42.51
Curry County, NM$28$81$763$32.45
Roosevelt County, NM$19$122$1,039$50.33
Cochran County$34$140 2023$1,417$52.69
Lamb County$66$107$1,505$45.05
Parmer County$37$116$1,651$32.35
Median next door$34$112$1,417$45.05

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. Bailey County, Texas. 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/texas/bailey-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.