Texas Agriculture and Labor

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May 16, 2022

Texas has more farms, 248,400 in the 2017 COA, and more cattle, over 12 million, than any other state. Texas farm sales were $25 billion in 2017, including $18 billion from livestock and $7 billion from crops. The 3,400 Texas farms with annual sales of $1 million or more, 1.4 percent of the state’s farms, accounted for three-fourths of Texas farm sales.

Texas has 254 counties, and the state is divided into 10 agricultural districts, some with north and south sub-districts. The largest counties by area are in the state’s southwest; Brewster with 6,200 square miles is the largest, followed by Pecos with 4,800 square miles.

Texas has 254 counties and 10 agricultural districts

The leading commodities by sales were cattle and calves worth $12.3 billion in 2017 or half of total farm sales, followed by broiler chickens worth $1.9 billion and milk worth $2.1 billion. The leading crops were cotton worth $2.6 billion from five million acres, corn worth $1.1 billion from 2.2 million acres, nursery products worth $0.8 billion, sorghum worth $0.5 billion, and fruits and vegetables worth $0.6 billion.

Cattle sales accounted for half of Texas’s $25 billion in farm sales in 2017

COA Table 12 reported that Texas had 153,000 cattle farms with 12.6 million head of cattle in 2017, including 203 farms that each had 5,000 or more cows and a total of 3.8 million or 30 percent of the state’s total herd. Texas had 4.6 million beef cattle, 532,000 milk cows, and 7.5 million other animals, including 730,000 sheep and 840,000 goats.

Texas has a rising number of cattle farms, 153,000 in 2017, a shrinking number of dairies, under 500, a shrinking number of hog farms, fewer than 6,000, and a rising number of sheep farms, almost 15,000. Some 230,000 sheep were shorn in Texas in 2019, when the average fleece weighed 7.4 pounds and was worth about $15, generating 1.7 million pounds of wool worth $1.90 a pound.

230,000 Texas sheep were sheared in 2019

Wool Production and Value - Texas: 2015-2019
Year	Number of Sheep Shorn	Weight per Fleece	Wool Production	Price per Pound	Value of Production
2015	270,000	7.20	1,950000	1.64	3,198,000
2016	260,000	6.90	1,800,000	1.75	3,150,000
2017	240,000	7.50	1,800,000	1.63	2,934,000
2018	240,000	7.30	1,760,000	1.80	3,168.000
2019	230,000	7.40	1,700,000	1.90	3,230,000

On January 1, 2020, some three million cattle were being fattened in Texas feed lots that each had 1,000 or more head of cattle. There were 735,000 sheep and lambs worth an average $183 each on Texas farms, and another 765,000 goats on January 1, 2020.

Texas is a large state with 127 million acres of farm land, including 88 million acres of pasture and range land. There were 29.4 million acres of crop land in 2017, but only 18 million acres were harvested, including all of the 4.4 million acres of irrigated crop land.

The 4,000 largest Texas farms, those with 5,000 acres or more, had 63 million acres or half of Texas farm land. These 4,000 farms also had 4.7 million acres or a quarter of the state’s harvested crop land and 1.3 million or 30 percent of the state’s irrigated land. Fewer than 4,000 of the state’s almost 250,000 farms, less than two percent, account for most Texas’s farm land and farm sales.

Labor. COA Table 4 reported that 51,000 Texas farms, about 20 percent of the state’s farms, had $1.7 billion in expenses for hired farm labor in 2017. Another 28,000 farms (often the same farms that hired workers directly) reported $290 million in contract labor expenses, for total farm labor expenses of $2 billion for hired farm workers. The 2,800 farms that each had $100,000 or more in farm labor expenses accounted for two-thirds of total direct hire labor expenses, and the 1,000 farms (often the same farms) with $50,000 or more in contract labor expenses accounted for 44 percent of total contract labor expenses.

Labor expense data suggest that fewer than 3,000 Texas farms, six percent of the 51,000 Texas farms with labor expenses, account for most of Texas farm labor expenses.

COA Table 7 reported that 51,000 farms hired 144,000 workers directly in 2017, and the 1,500 farms that each hired 10 or more workers directly hired a total of 37,400, accounting for 26 percent of workers hired. Most of the workers who were hired directly were seasonal, 85,000, compared with 57,000 workers who were employed on the responding farm 150 days or more. The COA asks farmers if their workers were migrants, and 1,300 Texas farms reported hiring 4,500 migrants directly in 2017.

Some 51,000 Texas farms reported hiring 144,000 workers directly in 2017 and paying them $1.7 billion

Hired Farm Labor - Workers and Payroll: 2017
Item	Texas	Anderson	Andrews	Angelina	Aransas
Hired farm labor
Farms	50,892	357	33	160	15
Workers	143,763	861	86	332	(D)
$1,000 payroll	1,736,122	7,888	1,275	1,586	191
Farms with 1 worker ............ farms	22,588	155	9	69	3
Farms with 1 worker ............ workers	22,588	155	9	69	3
Farms with 2 workers ............ farms	13,386	119	12	57	8
Farms with 2 workers ............ workers	26,772	238	24	114	16
Farms with 3 or 4 workers ............ farms	8,987	51	9	24	3
Farms with 3 or 4 workers ............ workers	30,347	171	28	77	(D)
Farms with 5 to 9 workers ............ farms	4,399	23	2	9	1
Farms with 5 to 9 workers ............ workers	26,619	130	(D)	(D)	(D)
Farms with 10 workers or more ............ farms	1,532	9	1	1	-
Farms with 10 workers or more ............ workers	37,437	167	(D)	(D)	-

Workers who worked 150 days or more
Farms	21,752	116	19	72	6
Workers	58,706	293	45	116	(D)
Farms with 1 worker ............ farms	11,780	64	5	41	-
Farms with 1 worker ............ workers	11,780	64	5	41	-
Farms with 2 workers ............ farms	5,143	33	8	24	4
Farms with 2 workers ............ workers	10,286	66	16	48	8
Farms with 3 or 4 workers ............ farms	2,924	10	5	5	1
Farms with 3 or 4 workers ............ workers	9,742	34	(D)	(D)	(D)
Farms with 5 to 9 workers ............ farms	1,230	5	1	2	1
Farms with 5 to 9 workers ............ workers	7,468	28	(D)	(D)	(D)
Farms with 10 workers or more ............ farms	675	4	-	-	-
Farms with 10 workers or more ............ workers	19,430	101	-	-	-

Workers who worked less than 150 days
Farms	37,106	277	19	113	9
Workers	85,057	41	568	216	(D)
Farms with 1 worker ............ farms	18,410	123	8	55	3
Farms with 1 worker ............ workers	18,410	123	8	55	3
Farms with 2 workers ............ farms	9,485	92	5	40	4
Farms with 2 workers ............ workers	18,970	184	10	80	8
Farms with 3 or 4 workers ............ farms	6,088	41	5	16	2
Farms with 3 or 4 workers ............ workers	20,359	135	(D)	59	(D)
Farms with 5 to 9 workers ............ farms	2,438	18	1	1	-
Farms with 5 to 9 workers ............ workers	14,385	96	(D)	(D)	-
Farms with 10 workers or more ............ farms	685	3	-	1	-
Farms with 10 workers or more ............ workers	12,933	30	-	(D)	-

Reported only workers working 150 days or more
Farms	13,786	80	14	47	6
Workers	34,989	198	35	75	19
$1,000 payroll	877,945	4,239	755	832	173

Reported only workers working less than 150 days
Farms	29,140	241	14	88	9
Workers	59,468	444	26	168	(D)
$1,000 payroll	190,206	908	302	468	18

Reported both - workers working 150 days or more and workers less than 150 days
150 days or more ............ workers	23,717	95	10	41	-
Less than 150 days ............ farms	7,966	36	5	25	-
Less than 150 days ............ workers	25,589	124	15	48	-
Less than 150 days ............ $1,000 payroll	667,971	2,741	218	286	-

Total migrant workers
Farms	1,610	4	2	2	-
Workers	5,394	9	(D)	(D)	-
Migrant farm labor on farms with hired labor ............ farms	1,256	2	2	2	-
Migrant farm labor on farms with hired labor ............ workers	4,554	(D)	(D)	(D)	-
Migrant farm labor on farms reporting only contract labor ............ farms	354	2	-	-	-
Migrant farm labor on farms reporting only contract labor ............ workers	840	(D)	-	-	-

Unpaid workers
Farms	123,579	906	61	579	46
Workers	274,711	2,058	133	1,195	102

Estimates prepared for the National Center for Farmworker Health report a higher number of workers than the Census of Agriculture data, even though the COA double counts workers employed on two or more farms. The NCFH estimated 71,467 crop workers and 124,267 livestock workers, for a total of 195,734 or 35 percent more than the COA’s 144,000. Some of this gap may reflect NCFH efforts to count workers who are brought to farms by FLCs and other nonfarm employers.

The NCFH data identify three counties that each have 5,000 farm workers or more and 10 that have 2,000 to 3,000 workers each. These 13 counties had almost 38,000 farm workers or 20 percent of the state’s total, and differed in their mix of crop and livestock workers. Hidalgo in the Rio Grande Valley, where almost 60 percent of the $311 million in farm sales in 2017 were from FVH commodities, included over 80 percent crop workers. In Karnes county in south central Texas, two-thirds of the $29 million in farm sales in 2017 were from cattle and calves, and over 80 percent of workers were livestock workers.

13 countries accounted for 20% of Texas’s estimated 196,000 farm workers

13 countries accounted for 20% of Texas’s estimated 196,000 farm workers
County	Total Crop Workers	Total Livestock Workers	Total Workers	Total Dependents	Total Workers and Dependents	Total Dependents 17 and Under
Hidalgo	4,626	1,192	5,817	8,379	14,196	4,726
Karnes	901	4,843	5,744	8,273	14,017	4,666
Lamb	4,062	647	4,709	6,783	11,492	3,826
Val Verde	427	2,043	2,470	3,558	6,029	2,007
Comal	118	2,194	2,312	3,330	5,643	1,879
Waller	1,362	882	2,244	3,231	5,643	1,879
Parker	505	1,465	1,969	2,837	4,806	1,600
Wharton	1,322	641	1,963	2,828	4,791	1,595
Van Zandt	907	1,007	1,914	2,757	4,671	1,555
Gonzales	384	1,524	1,908	2,748	4,656	1,550
Collin	806	1,055	1,861	2,680	4,541	1,512
Throckmorton	218	1,599	1,818	2,618	4,436	1,477

Hidalgo county had the most farm workers in Texas, and is primarily a crop county

Total and Per Farm Overview, 2017 and change since 2012
	2017	% change since 2012
Number of farms	2,436	+13
Land in farms (acres)	623,875	-22
Average size of farm (acres)	256	-30

Total	($)	% change
Market value of products sold	311,030,000	-31
Government payments	6,631,000	-27
Farm-related income	18,114,000	-12
Total farm production expenses	257,731,000	-33
Net cash farm income	78,043,000	-20

Percent of state agriculture sales
Share of Sales by Type ($)
Crops	94
LIvestock, poultry, and products	6

Land in Farms by Use (%)
Cropland	57
Pastureland	31
Woodland	8
Other	4

An alternative source of farm labor data is the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which reports the employment and earnings of workers who are employed on farms that must participate in unemployment insurance. Texas requires agricultural employers who hire at least three employees for at least an hour a day for 20 weeks in a calendar year, who pay at least $6,250 in cash wages in a calendar quarter, and/or who employ a seasonal worker in a truck farm, orchard, or vineyard, and/or who employ a migrant or seasonal worker, to enroll in the state’s UI system and to pay taxes on the wages earned by employees. The wages paid to H-2A workers are exempt from UI taxes.

Bowen National Research used 2010 UI data to estimate that Texas had 34,520 migrant and seasonal farm workers in 49 counties in 2010, including a third in the High Plains or the Texas Panhandle area in the northwestern part of the state. Another 15 percent of MSFWs were in south Texas counties, 15 percent were in west Texas, and the remaining 40 percent were in the state’s other counties. Of these 34,520 MSFWs, 18,300 were reported and 16,200 were “estimated” by Bowen. The most important crops grown in the regions studied by Bowen were cotton in the High Plains and west Texas and sorghum for grain in south Texas.

Bowen estimated that Texas had 40 counties with 1,000 or more MSFWs in 2010

The purpose of the Bowen report was to survey the availability of and need for MSFW housing. Bowen estimated that there was housing for 2,500 of the 31,000 low-income MSFWs in Texas, leaving a housing gap for 28,500 MSFWs, many of whom likely paid a high share of their income in rent.

Texas counties with 1,000 or more MSFWs in 2010

Counties with 1,000+ Farmworkers by TDHCA Region
Region 1 High Plains
Bailey	Collingsworth	Hockley	Parmer
Castro	Floyd	Lamb	Swisher
Childress	Hale	Lynn	Terry
Cochran	Hall	Moore	Yoakum

Region 11 South Texas Border
Dimmit	Starr	Val Verde	Zavala
Maverick	Uvalde	Willacy	-

Region 12 West Texas
Dawson	Glasscock	Martin	-
Gaines	Howard	Reeves	-

Balance of State
Comanche	Frio	Lamar	Scurry
DeWitt	Haskell	Mitchell	Shelby
Duval	Hudspeth	Nolan	Titus
Eastland	Jim Wells	Presidio	Wharton
Fisher	Kleberg	Runnels	Wilbarger

UI-covered employment in Texas agriculture declined 10 percent between 2000 and 2020 to an average 57,300. However, crop employment declined by over 20 percent, and crop support employment fell by over 40 percent, while livestock employment increased by 25 percent. The decline in crop employment and the rise in cattle employment likely reflects mechanization in crop production and fewer and larger livestock operations that depend on hired workers.

Direct-hire employment in livestock rose by 25 percent and employment in animal support services rose by 45 percent. There were 15 full-time equivalent jobs on animal farms for each FTE job in animal support in 2020, down from 18 to one in 2001. By contrast, the ratio of direct-hire crop to crop support rose to 2.3 by 2020, that is, there were 2.3 direct-hire workers for each crop support worker.

Average employment in Texas ag declined 10 percent since 2000, but rose for livestock and fell in crops

Most of the growth in livestock employment occurred between 2010 and 2020, while most of the decline in crop and crop support employment occurred between 2001 and 2010. The number of ag establishments registered with UI was stable at about 10,000, including 4,600 in livestock and 500 in livestock support.

The average weekly wages of UI-covered workers were higher in support services and lower for workers who were hired directly by farm establishments. In 2020, average weekly wages were $895 in livestock support and $865 in crop support, compared with $805 for direct hires in livestock and $695 for direct hires in crops. Livestock support wages were 11 percent higher and crop support wages were 20 percent higher than for directly hired workers in livestock and crops, respectively.

Average weekly wages for support workers rose faster than for direct hires

The weekly wages of UI-covered crop workers across the US were $732 in 2020 or two percent more than the $715 of US crop support workers. The average weekly wages of US livestock workers were $815 or three percent more than the $790 of US livestock support workers.

Texas livestock support wages have always been higher than direct-hire livestock wages, and the support premium has varied from one to 20 percent over the past two decades. Weekly crop support wages were lower than direct hire wages in the early 2000s but, after surpassing direct-hire crop wages in 2004, the crop support premium increased.

Fruits and Vegetables. The leading fruits by sales were grapefruit worth $65 million in 2019 and oranges and wine grapes, each worth about $23 million. Texas vegetable acreage has been shrinking; there were 50,000 acres harvested in 2019 that produced fresh and processing vegetables worth less than $200 million. Total fruit and vegetable sales were almost $350 million in 2017.

Texas has an elected agriculture commissioner, currently Sid Miller, who announced plans to run for a third term in 2022. Miller is a Trump supporter who criticized Governor Greg Abbott for implementing restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in 2020.