Farm Census

Hockley County, Texas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

897 farms546,993 acres in farms$62.3 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Hockley County ranks tenth for cotton.

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

Cotton: 66.7%Cotton66.7%Grains and oilseeds: 20.5%Grains and oilseeds20.5%Cattle and calves: 7.0%Cattle and calves7.0%Withheld groups: 3.7%3.7%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Horses and mules: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%Cotton: 66.7%Cotton66.7%Grains and oilseeds: 20.5%Grains and oilseeds20.5%Cattle and calves: 7.0%7.0%Withheld groups: 3.7%3.7%Hay and other crops: 1.9%1.9%Horses and mules: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 0.1%Other animals: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, nursery and greenhouse crops, poultry and eggs and sheep and goat products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cotton and cottonseed$41.5 million6th of 116
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$12.7 million51st of 173
Cattle and calves$4.4 million200th of 230
Hay and other crops$1.2 million148th of 213
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$44,000190th of 207
Hogs and pigs$33,00048th of 103
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$32,000104th of 109
Other animals and animal products$2,000159th of 161

What the fields held

Hockley County harvested 116,173 acres of cropland in 2022, 27th of 220 counties in Texas. Cotton covered acreage equal to 67% of that, grain sorghum 17%.

CropAcresShare of US
Cotton77,6231.0%
Grain sorghum19,3590.41%
Corn for grain7,061under 0.1%
Wheat6,204under 0.1%
Hay and haylage5,733under 0.1%
Orchard land311under 0.1%
Berries31under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: soybeans, oats, peanuts, potatoes, vegetables, pecans and grapes.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms94.1%

Hockley County ranks 72nd of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.

  • 442,215 acres of cropland, 81% of farmland
  • 115,948 acres of pastureland, 21% of farmland
  • 448 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 66,248 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Hockley County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 177 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 610 acres, 109th-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 50–179 acres, with 38.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 14.6% of the total.

1–94%10–4914%50–17938%180–49921%500–9998%1,000–1,9996%2,000+8%
Hockley County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats419under 0.1%
Beef cows4,177under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs666under 0.1%
Horses and ponies299under 0.1%
Cattle and calves7,559under 0.1%
Laying hens600under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs96under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 202215under 0.1%

Withheld: turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Hockley County's 897 farms are made by 1,558 producers. Their average age is 60.4, 0.5 years above the Texas average. Women are 40.0% of them.

Under 356%35–4412%45–5412%55–6426%65–7431%75+13%
Hockley County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms661+35.7%
Land in farms, acres524,733+4.2%
Average farm size, acres794−23.2%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$92.0 million−32.3%
Cotton, acres152,495−49.1%
Grain sorghum, acres72,464−73.3%
Wheat, acres1,477+100%
Goats, head479−12.5%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Hockley County accounts for 0.2% of farm sales in Texas and 0.4% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for cotton.

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