Farm Census

Bandera County, Texas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

723 farms191,495 acres in farms$4.6 million in farm sales

Bandera County's producers are among the oldest in the country, with the fourth-highest average age of the 2,346 counties that have at least 500 producers.

Its land in farms changed more than almost anywhere else between 2017 and 2022: the second-steepest loss among the 2,081 counties with at least 100,000 acres in farms in 2017.

Cattle and calves: 42.5%Cattle and calves42.5%Sheep and goats: 19.0%Sheep and goats19.0%Fruit and nuts: 11.2%Fruit and nuts11.2%Other animals: 10.1%Other animals10.1%Horses and mules: 7.8%Horses and mules7.8%Withheld groups: 3.7%Withheld groups3.7%Hay and other crops: 2.9%2.9%Poultry and eggs: 2.8%2.8%Cattle and calves: 42.5%Cattle and calves42.5%Sheep and goats: 19.0%Sheep and goats19.0%Fruit and nuts: 11.2%Fruit and nuts11.2%Other animals: 10.1%Other animals10.1%Horses and mules: 7.8%7.8%Withheld groups: 3.7%3.7%Hay and other crops: 2.9%2.9%Poultry and eggs: 2.8%2.8%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: grains and oilseeds, vegetables and melons, nursery and greenhouse crops, Christmas trees, hogs and pigs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$2.0 million218th of 230
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$878,00044th of 201
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$520,00055th of 138
Other animals and animal products$466,00062nd of 161
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$363,000100th of 207
Hay and other crops$134,000203rd of 213
Poultry and eggs$129,00096th of 168

What the fields held

Bandera County harvested 2,063 acres of cropland in 2022, 212th of 220 counties in Texas. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 69% of that, orchard land 17%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage1,424under 0.1%
Orchard land355under 0.1%
of which grapes20under 0.1%
of which apples29under 0.1%
of which pecans189under 0.1%
Berries11under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, potatoes and vegetables.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms37.8%

Bandera County ranks 218th of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.

  • 7,984 acres of cropland, 4% of farmland
  • 163,304 acres of pastureland, 85% of farmland
  • 39,260 acres of woodland, 21% of farmland
  • 242 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Bandera County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 63 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 265 acres, 162nd-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 37.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 5.5% of the total.

1–97%10–4937%50–17924%180–49920%500–9997%1,000–1,9993%2,000+3%
Bandera County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats8,0270.32%
Sheep and lambs2,300under 0.1%
Horses and ponies550under 0.1%
Cattle and calves5,300under 0.1%
Laying hens3,084under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs439under 0.1%
Turkeys124under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022138under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.

Who farms here

Decisions on Bandera County's 723 farms are made by 1,309 producers. Their average age is 63.9, 4.0 years above the Texas average. Women are 42.7% of them.

Under 353%35–447%45–5413%55–6425%65–7431%75+22%
Bandera County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms897−19.4%
Land in farms, acres403,311−52.5%
Average farm size, acres450−41.1%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$6.9 million−33.3%
Goats, head6,440+24.6%
Sheep and lambs, head2,566−10.4%
Horses and ponies, head1,020−46.1%
Apples, acres22+31.8%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Bandera County accounts for under 0.1% of farm sales in Texas and 0.3% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for goats.

Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.