Farmland Atlas · county record

Ward County, Texas

Ward County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $9 an acre (2013); land and buildings $1,747 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 2.29 since 1989. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48475. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Ward County has spent 347 of 1357 weeks since 2000 in severe drought or worse, 25.6 percent of the time, with 2011 the worst year at 50 weeks. From 2021-2025 that count is 111 weeks. Heat and drought is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2015, at 26 percent, and its share rose from 10 percent in 2000-2009 to 41 percent in 2010-2019. July nightly lows have warmed 0.63 F per decade since 1976, and the 2017-2026 average of 72.4 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 71.2 F. Land value rose 64.2 percent from 2017-2022, 10.4 percent a year.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$9/ac
2013 county average
too few 2013 county surveys in the state to compare
Land and buildings
$1,747/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782 · 69th lowest of 246
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
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
57%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · 37th highest of 251

Cash rent

Non-irrigated, 2013$9/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$1,747/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$370/ac
Census 2017$1,064/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+64.2%+10.4% 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 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in.

Loss ratio, 1989–20192.29$6.5 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2015heat and drought 26% · freeze 19% · irrigation failure 17%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025365022

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, 2000–2025347 of 1,357 weeks26% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201150 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025111 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202672.4 °F1991–2020 normal 71.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.63 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September7.9 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 82% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.7 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 2022none reported
Cover crops, 2022none reported
1986199119962001200620112016202101,7280

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
CRP average rental payment, FY2020$28/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20224,703+12.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202257%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Ward County—$1,747—
Crane County—$1,444—
Ector County—$1,824—
Loving County—$1,671—
Pecos County—$1,178$12.39
Reeves County$150 2023$1,309$14.08
Winkler County—$1,520—
Median next door—$1,482$13.24 2 co.

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. Ward 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/ward-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.