Farm Census

Gaines County, Texas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

624 farms810,019 acres in farms$169 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Gaines County leads the country in peanuts and ranks sixth for cotton.

Since 2017 it has had the sixth-largest increase in farm numbers among the 1,675 counties that had at least 500 farms in 2017.

Hay and other crops: 40.4%Hay and other crops40.4%Cotton: 29.1%Cotton29.1%Grains and oilseeds: 16.1%Grains and oilseeds16.1%Withheld groups: 10.7%Withheld groups10.7%Cattle and calves: 2.2%2.2%Fruit and nuts: 1.4%1.4%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Hay and other crops: 40.4%Hay and other crops40.4%Cotton: 29.1%Cotton29.1%Grains and oilseeds: 16.1%Grains and oilseeds16.1%Withheld groups: 10.7%10.7%Cattle and calves: 2.2%2.2%Fruit and nuts: 1.4%1.4%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: vegetables and melons, nursery and greenhouse crops, milk, horses and mules and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Hay and other crops$68.4 million1st of 213
Cotton and cottonseed$49.3 million3rd of 116
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$27.4 million31st of 173
Cattle and calves$3.7 million204th of 230
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$2.3 million12th of 138
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$231,00098th of 201
Hogs and pigs$63,00033rd of 103
Poultry and eggs$22,000139th of 168
Other animals and animal products$7,000152nd of 161

What the fields held

Gaines County harvested 208,382 acres of cropland in 2022, seventh of 220 counties in Texas. Cotton covered acreage equal to 46% of that, peanuts 20%.

CropAcresShare of US
Cotton95,1231.2%
Peanuts42,1723.0%
Hay and haylage29,9140.06%
Wheat15,501under 0.1%
Corn for grain13,541under 0.1%
Grain sorghum9,8940.21%
Corn for silage6,4520.11%
Orchard land836under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: sunflower, potatoes, vegetables, pecans, grapes and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms84.2%

Gaines County ranks 100th of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.

  • 648,081 acres of cropland, 80% of farmland
  • 152,372 acres of pastureland, 19% of farmland
  • 2,459 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 140,156 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Gaines County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 434 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 1,298 acres, 70th-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 180–499 acres, with 23.4% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 32.1% of the total.

1–99%10–497%50–17914%180–49923%500–99915%1,000–1,99916%2,000+17%
Gaines County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats483under 0.1%
Horses and ponies261under 0.1%
Cattle and calves7,672under 0.1%
Laying hens714under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs126under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 202260under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows, milk cows and sheep and lambs.

Who farms here

Decisions on Gaines County's 624 farms are made by 1,261 producers. Their average age is 57.4, 2.5 years below the Texas average. Women are 39.6% of them.

Under 3510%35–4419%45–5413%55–6419%65–7421%75+18%
Gaines County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms507+23.1%
Land in farms, acres857,942−5.6%
Average farm size, acres1,692−23.3%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$189 million−10.2%
Peanuts, acres60,497−30.3%
Cotton, acres241,339−60.6%
Grain sorghum, acres13,945−29.0%
Corn for silage, acres3,113+100%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Gaines County accounts for 0.5% of farm sales in Texas and 0.3% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for peanuts.

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