They say everything is bigger in the Lone Star State, and it’s a statement that’s certainly true of the Texas agriculture industry.

Agriculture is big in Texas; the Lone Star State has the second largest agriculture industry in the country, based on agriculture receipts. Take a look at agriculture facts and statistics about the Texas agriculture industry, a powerhouse of agriculture, below.

Texas Agriculture Facts and Stats

The Texas ag industry is biggest in one way: land. More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state, with over 130 million acres being used as farmland. That equates to 77 percent of Texas’s land being used for agricultural purposes.

Texas also leads the nation in beef production (the largest single segment in the U.S.’s ag industry), leading in beef cows, cattle/calve operations, and cattle/calves inventory. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas also leads the country in cotton, hay, sheep, goats and mohair production. See more statistics in our publication on agriculture and ag lending in Texas.

Texas land loans are an attractive option when compared with other states because Texas ag land is very affordable and the values are increasing. According to data from the USDA Land Values 2015 Summary and published by AgWeb.com, farm real estate in Texas was worth $1,940 an acre in 2015. The value of ag land in Texas is also rising, increasing 4.9 percent over 2014 numbers. When compared with the cost per acre of farm real estate in other major ag-producing states, like California’s $7,700 and Florida’s $5,400, Texas’s ag land is very affordable.

Fun Texas Agriculture Industry Data

Texas has a number of influences, from the “Old West” days to Mexican culture. For instance, the official state snack is chips & salsa, which of course, includes core agriculture commodities in Texas like corn and vegetables. In 2015, Texas farmers produced enough tortilla chip corn for 14.3 billion pounds of corn chips and enough tomatoes for 8.7 million cups of salsa.

All in all, 99 percent of Texas farms are family owned. Furthermore, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas has more women- and minority-owned farm operations than any other state in the country.

If you’d like to discuss Texas land loans, make an appointment to speak with one of our land lending specialists today. We help the country’s growers and producers thrive and succeed with our custom lending packages that feature low interest rates, long amortizations, and an outstanding 10-year line of credit.