Farm operations
411
Avg 4,443 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census NM · FIPS 35025 Top quartile by state sales TRACE PASTURE-LED
Lea County, New Mexico - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Lea County. Ranked #5 of 33 counties in New Mexico.
1,826,208 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 5.0% 92,019 acres
- Other land
- 95.0% 1,734,189 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Lea County received $2.37 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 1.0× the New Mexico county median of $2.38.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $2.37
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $2.38
- New Mexico county median per acre
- 1.00×
- New Mexico median per acre
Payments per acre use the same NASS county table for receipts and acreage. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series.
According to the 2022 USDA NASS Census of Agriculture, Lea County, New Mexico is a PASTURE-LED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp TRACE; commodity sales sit far above state median and it shows below-typical federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$259.3M
10.5× state median -- Far above state median
Federal payments
$4.3M
1.7% of sales -- Below-typical dependence
Net farm income
$64.2M
2022 cash income -- Well above-typical net income
B
Farm economy grade: B -- Lea County's net farm income sits at the 75th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Lea County Farm Data Shows
Lea County, New Mexico reads as a PASTURE-LED county with TRACE federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is under 25% of agricultural land, a mix where livestock forage and disaster titles (LFP/ELAP) usually outweigh row-crop commodity programs; payments per agricultural acre fall in the lowest national quintile, under $3.41 an acre, so program receipts are a marginal line beside market revenue.
The state comparisons on this page use the 31 of 33 New Mexico counties with published commodity sales (2 withheld by NASS to protect respondents are left out, not counted as zero), averaging the two central values when the count is even. Payments per acre use the 31 counties that report both receipts and acreage, and net-income peers are the 25 that reported a profit.
Pair the payment peers below before treating any single county as representative of New Mexico.
Read with Lea County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Lea (TRACE · PASTURE-LED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
TRACE PASTURE-LED
Moffat County, CO · LIGHT
$4.3M federal receipts is lower by $1K than Lea; land stamp PASTURE-LED vs PASTURE-LED.
Victoria County, TX · MID
$4.3M federal receipts is higher by $1K than Lea; land stamp PASTURE-LED vs PASTURE-LED.
Newton County, MO · HEAVY
$4.3M federal receipts is lower by $2K than Lea; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.
Shelby County, IL · HEAVY
$4.3M federal receipts is lower by $7K than Lea; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs PASTURE-LED.
Natrona County (TRACE $/acre pole)
Natrona sits near Lea on payments-per-acre ($2.39) while total receipts differ.
Union County (TRACE $/acre pole)
Union sits near Lea on payments-per-acre ($2.01) while total receipts differ.
New Mexico ERS state roll-up
Lea stamps TRACE · PASTURE-LED inside New Mexico's NASS county table, open the state ERS payment stack next.
Census payments leaderboard
Open the national ranking of U.S. counties by NASS federal farm program payments to see the counties around Lea under the TRACE intensity band.
What to do with this
From Lea County, New Mexico, these three pages are the natural next reads:
- See how New Mexico compares nationally on ERS farm payments and income. New Mexico state page
- Browse the full county table to compare payment intensity across the country. All counties
- Understand what actually drives county-level farm payments. Read the guide
County figures (2022 NASS Census of Agriculture) are a separate population from USDA ERS state and national payment series and must not be summed together.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many farms are in Lea County, New Mexico?
Lea County, New Mexico has 411 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 4,443 acres; land stamp PASTURE-LED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Lea County?
Lea County's total commodity sales are $259.3M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #5 among 33 counties in New Mexico.
How much federal farm assistance does Lea County receive?
Lea County received $4.3M in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping TRACE on NASS payments-per-acre ($2.37/acre) with a PASTURE-LED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Lea County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Lea County is $64.2M (2022 Census of Agriculture).
State Overview
New Mexico
33 counties · View state farm data
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 2022 Census of Agriculture · 2022
Dollar values reflect calendar year 2022 farm operations data.
PlainFarmData is an independent data portal, not affiliated with USDA, FSA, or any government agency. For official program eligibility or application guidance, contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office.
Intensity stamp TRACE · land stamp PASTURE-LED (NASS payments-per-acre / cropland share bands).
NASS withholds commodity sales for 2 New Mexico counties with too few farm operations to publish without identifying individual producers. Those counties are excluded from the peer median on this page rather than counted as zero sales.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Verify with USDA NASS Census of Agriculture →
County farm figures on this page are rendered from the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, no number is typed in by an editor. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.