Farm operations
305
Avg 942 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census TX · FIPS 48505 Bottom quartile by state sales LIGHT PASTURE-LED
Zapata County, Texas - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Zapata County. Ranked #240 of 254 counties in Texas.
287,324 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 2.1% 5,980 acres
- Other land
- 97.9% 281,344 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Zapata County received $4.43 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 0.7× the Texas county median of $6.14.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $4.43
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $6.14
- Texas county median per acre
- 0.72×
- 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, Zapata County, Texas is a PASTURE-LED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp LIGHT; commodity sales sit well below state median and it shows high federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$5.2M
0.100× state median -- Well below state median
Federal payments
$1.3M
24.5% of sales -- High federal dependence
Net farm income
$-666K
2022 cash income -- Net loss
F
Farm economy grade: F -- Zapata County's net farm income sits at the 10th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Zapata County Farm Data Shows
Zapata County, Texas reads as a PASTURE-LED county with LIGHT 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 second-lowest national quintile, $3.41 to $6.98 an acre, which is light federal support for the land base.
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 Zapata County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Zapata (LIGHT · PASTURE-LED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
LIGHT PASTURE-LED
Mason County, MI · HEAVY
$1.3M federal receipts is higher by $1K than Zapata; land stamp CROP-LED vs PASTURE-LED.
Cass County, MN · MID
$1.3M federal receipts is lower by $1K than Zapata; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.
New Haven County, CT · DENSE
$1.3M federal receipts is lower by $2K than Zapata; land stamp MIXED vs PASTURE-LED.
Jefferson County, GA · MID
$1.3M federal receipts is higher by $3K than Zapata; land stamp CROP-LED vs PASTURE-LED.
Okeechobee County (LIGHT $/acre pole)
Okeechobee sits near Zapata on payments-per-acre ($4.45) while total receipts differ.
Burleson County (LIGHT $/acre pole)
Burleson sits near Zapata on payments-per-acre ($4.32) while total receipts differ.
Texas ERS state roll-up
Zapata stamps LIGHT · PASTURE-LED 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 Zapata under the LIGHT intensity band.
What to do with this
From Zapata 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 Zapata County, Texas?
Zapata County, Texas has 305 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 942 acres; land stamp PASTURE-LED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Zapata County?
Zapata County's total commodity sales are $5.2M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #240 among 254 counties in Texas.
How much federal farm assistance does Zapata County receive?
Zapata County received $1.3M in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping LIGHT on NASS payments-per-acre ($4.43/acre) with a PASTURE-LED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Zapata County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Zapata County is $-666K (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 LIGHT · land stamp PASTURE-LED (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.