Texas Land Trends Report Outlines Shifts in Working Lands
A new report highlights significant population growth in Texas, which is leading to a loss of agricultural land and driving up land values.
The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI) published the 25th edition of the Texas Land Trends program report, Status Update and Trends of Texas Working Lands 1997-2022.
The report provides insight into the status and recent changes in land values, ownership size and land use of privately owned working lands in Texas.
It describes how land use in Texas has changed over the last 25 years and the complex makeup of Texas’ agricultural lands, as well as the challenges presented by rapid economic and population changes. Texas is home to eight of the top 15 fastest growing cities in the U.S. According to the report, from 1997 to 2022, the Texas population increased 55%, from 19 million to 30 million residents. That growth equals nearly 1,100 new residents per day.
Of the population increase, 88% occurred within the state’s top 25 highest growth counties.
“The report shows as Texas continues to grow in population and economy, the demand for rural land, especially in areas surrounding major urban centers and transportation corridors, will continue to increase and have long-term impacts on working lands,” said Roel Lopez, director of the NRI and head of the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
Land values have increased by 505% in the last 25 years. The average appraised market value of Texas working lands rose 55% since 2017, from $1,951 per acre to $3,021 per acre, according to the report.
Population growth and increasing land values are creating incentives for landowners to subdivide and sell their land, Lopez noted.
About 3.7 million acres of working lands have been converted to nonagricultural uses from 1997 to 2022. In the last five years alone, 1.8 million acres have been lost.
“Lands across the state are following much of the same trends in ownership fragmentation and conversion in the last five-year period as observed since 1997,” Lopez said.
Texas has lost more than 17,000 agricultural operations in the last five years, and the average ownership size has increased from 509 to 541 acres.
The report shows small farms and ranches of less than 100 acres in size represent 60% of all ownerships but only account for 3% of land devoted to agriculture in 2022. “We’re aware of how land fragmentation and the conversion of working lands can diminish ecosystems,” Lopez said. “It’s important to provide Texans with knowledge and resources to mitigate these impacts and reduce the pressure on undeveloped spaces that can provide these ecological services and a healthy balance in and around urban areas.”
He noted agricultural lands are important for not only the economic benefits and products provided, but they also provide valuable ecosystem services.
“The loss of traditional benefits working lands provide, including food and fiber, valuable ecosystem services, like water storage and clean air, that rural and urban communities rely upon every day, will also be lost or greatly diminished,” the report said.
Conservation of agricultural and working lands impacts future generations.
“Supporting landowners in the stewardship of working lands is crucial to conserving healthy ecosystems, fostering resilient communities and ensuring sustainable natural resources for future generations,” the report said.
The report is published every five years and pulls from several sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas State Comptroller of Public Accounts and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
