Farm operations
407
Avg 1,414 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census TX · FIPS 48227 Lower-middle by state sales HEAVY MIXED
Howard County, Texas - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Howard County. Ranked #161 of 254 counties in Texas.
575,487 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 41.2% 237,055 acres
- Other land
- 58.8% 338,432 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Howard County received $13.37 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 2.2× the Texas county median of $6.14.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $13.37
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $6.14
- Texas county median per acre
- 2.18×
- Texas 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, Howard County, Texas is a MIXED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp HEAVY; commodity sales sit near state median and it shows high federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$32.6M
0.63× state median -- Near state median
Federal payments
$7.7M
23.6% of sales -- High federal dependence
Net farm income
$3.5M
2022 cash income -- Below-typical net income
D
Farm economy grade: D -- Howard County's net farm income sits at the 25th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Howard County Farm Data Shows
Howard County, Texas reads as a MIXED county with HEAVY federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is 25% to 50% of agricultural land with the balance in pasture, range, woodland or farmsteads, so row-crop and livestock-side programs are both in play; payments per agricultural acre fall in the second-highest national quintile, $11.30 to $18.39 an acre, heavy federal support relative to the acreage.
The state comparisons on this page use the 252 of 254 Texas 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 249 counties that report both receipts and acreage, and net-income peers are the 147 that reported a profit.
Pair the payment peers below before treating any single county as representative of Texas.
Read with Howard County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Howard (HEAVY · MIXED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
HEAVY MIXED
Floyd County, IA · DENSE
$7.7M federal receipts is higher by $5K than Howard; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs MIXED.
Butte County, CA · DENSE
$7.7M federal receipts is lower by $10K than Howard; land stamp CROP-LED vs MIXED.
Douglas County, MN · DENSE
$7.7M federal receipts is higher by $21K than Howard; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs MIXED.
Johnson County, MO · DENSE
$7.7M federal receipts is lower by $37K than Howard; land stamp CROP-LED vs MIXED.
Klickitat County (HEAVY $/acre pole)
Klickitat sits near Howard on payments-per-acre ($13.41) while total receipts differ.
Hill County (HEAVY $/acre pole)
Hill sits near Howard on payments-per-acre ($13.42) while total receipts differ.
Texas ERS state roll-up
Howard stamps HEAVY · MIXED inside Texas'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 Howard under the HEAVY intensity band.
What to do with this
From Howard County, Texas, these three pages are the natural next reads:
- See how Texas compares nationally on ERS farm payments and income. Texas 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 Howard County, Texas?
Howard County, Texas has 407 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 1,414 acres; land stamp MIXED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Howard County?
Howard County's total commodity sales are $32.6M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #161 among 254 counties in Texas.
How much federal farm assistance does Howard County receive?
Howard County received $7.7M in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping HEAVY on NASS payments-per-acre ($13.37/acre) with a MIXED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Howard County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Howard County is $3.5M (2022 Census of Agriculture).
State Overview
Texas
254 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 HEAVY · land stamp MIXED (NASS payments-per-acre / cropland share bands).
NASS withholds commodity sales for 2 Texas 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.