Farmland Atlas · county record

Kleberg County, Texas

Kleberg County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $46 an acre (2026); land and buildings $1,396 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48273. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Kleberg County had no acres published in farms in the 2022 census. County averages here describe very little farmland; read them with care.

Non-irrigated cash rent in Kleberg County runs $46 per acre, up 37.9 percent from 2016 to 2026. All harvested cropland here is non-irrigated; the 2022 census puts irrigated share at 0 percent. Heat and drought stand as the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities across 1989-2025, at 79 percent of $162.0 million paid, and that share ran higher in 2000-2009 at 93 percent and 2010-2019 at 88 percent than in 1989-1999 at 25 percent. The county spent 267 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2000-2025, with 52 weeks in 2012 alone. July nights have warmed 0.47 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average low of 77.3 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 76.4 F.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$46/ac
2026 county average
TX median $27
Land and buildings
$1,396/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782
Rent as % of land value
3.22%
$45 dry rent ÷ $1,396 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$12.64
2016–2025, closed crop years
TX median $29.48
Farmland rented
—
suppressed by NASS

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$502010201520202025$36$46 dry

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$46/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+37.9%nominal, $33 to $46
Pasture, 2026$15/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,396/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,884/ac
Census 2017$1,320/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+5.8%+1.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223.22%$45 ÷ $1,396

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

19911996200120062011201620210.156.650.171.00: 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$12.64
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.57claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.16$162.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 35
Worst year2009ratio 6.65
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 79% · excess moisture 9% · other 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025105211

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, 2000–2025267 of 1,357 weeks20% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201252 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202532 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202677.3 °F1991–2020 normal 76.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.47 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September17.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 89% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland403 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202105,639160

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

CRP enrolled, 2025160 ac0.4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202840 ac25% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$29/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202225,092−9.0% since 2017

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Kleberg County$46—$1,396$12.64
Aransas County——$1,831$15.07
Brooks County$8 2023—$1,945—
Jim Wells County$31 2025—$2,446$32.67
Kenedy County——$1,827—
Nueces County$70$71$2,963$10.76
Median next door$70 1 co.$71 1 co.$1,945$15.07

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. Kleberg 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/kleberg-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.