Farmland Atlas · county record

Mason County, Texas

Mason County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,655 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48319. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Mason County is $22 per acre, up 53.6 percent from 2016 to 2026. Irrigated cash rent in 2022 was $115 per acre, and 71 percent of harvested cropland was irrigated, with 98 percent of that water from groundwater in 2015. July nights average 71.9 F for 2017-2026, against a 70.7 F normal for 1991-2020, and the July nightly low has warmed 0.43 F per decade since 1976. Crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025 total $354,057, with heat and drought the largest cause at 59 percent overall and 81 percent of losses in 2020-2025. Land value rose 14.5 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 2.8 percent a year, reaching $2,655 per acre.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$22/ac
2026 county average
TX median $27 · tied for 55th lowest of 189
Cash rent, irrigated
$115/ac
2022 county average
too few 2022 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$2,655/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782 · 117th lowest of 246
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
43%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · 99th highest of 251

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$100$1202010201520202025$17$22 dry$54$115 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$22/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+53.6%nominal, $14 to $22
Irrigated, 2022$115/ac
Pasture, 2026$5/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,655/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,368/ac
Census 2017$2,318/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+14.5%+2.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 71% 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

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.

Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 59% · hail 14% · other 11%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025334622

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, 2000–2025409 of 1,357 weeks30% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201146 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025103 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.9 °F1991–2020 normal 70.7 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.43 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September16.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 102% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger2.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202271%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202212% of cropland4,603 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland535 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021032848

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

CRP enrolled, 202548 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202234,001−11.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202243%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueClaims per $100
Mason County$22$2,655—
Gillespie County$18$3,993$31.58
Kimble County$8 2024$2,623—
Llano County$10$3,097—
McCulloch County$26$2,129$47.69
Menard County$27$1,968—
San Saba County$11$3,033$37.81
Median next door$18$2,828$37.81

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. Mason 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/mason-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.