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Texas:
Texas Agriculture Production Sets Record at $21.8
Billion
By Blair Fannin
Texas A&M
College Station, Texas (May 14, 2008) --
Texas agricultural production for 2007 was a record $21.8 billion due to
higher crop and livestock prices, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension
Service report.
Add another $20.8 billion worth
of purchased items, such as tires, fuel and other agribusiness supplies used
to produce a crop, and the total economic impact to rural Texas tops $42.6
billion, said Dr. Carl Anderson, professor emeritus and AgriLife Extension
economist.
“The economic impact to these
rural communities is quite substantial, and even more so when you look at
how much of an economic driver agriculture overall is to the state of
Texas,” said Anderson, who led the study.
The 2007 production mark topped
the $16.9 billion recorded during the drought of 2006 and $18.4 billion
recorded in 2005, Anderson said.
“Higher crop prices and strong
livestock prices have contributed to a substantial increase in economic
activities across the rural areas of Texas,” Anderson said.
Increased demand for grain used
in ethanol production pushed grain prices “up to the highest level in
memory,” Anderson said.
Crop values in 2007 totaled $10
billion – an increase of more than 50 percent from 2006, according to the
annual AgriLife Extension survey of estimated agricultural production values
for Texas counties.
“Crop yields, forage production
and grazing conditions were excellent in 2007,” Anderson said. “Corn, grain
sorghum, wheat and hay prices were up sharply, with cotton moderately
higher.”
The following are major crop
values and those recording gains in excess of 100 percent for 2007:
- Wheat, $779 million – more than
double in 2006.
- Corn, $1.1 billion.
- Sorghum, $818 billion.
- Hay production, $1.2 billion.
Values by commodity groups for
2007:
- Food grains totaled $889
million (an 87 percent increase).
- Feed crops totaled $3.3 billion
(135 percent increase).
 -
All cotton (dryland, irrigated), $2.8 billion (a 51 percent increase).
- Oil crops totaled $206 million
(59 percent gain).
- Vegetable crops totaled $397
million (a 6 percent increase).
- Fruits and nuts totaled ($183
million (14 percent increase).
- Miscellaneous crops, $2.2
billion (11 percent increase).
- Nursery crops, $1.9 billion.
Meanwhile, livestock values
increased 14 percent to $10 billion, matching 2007 crop values, Anderson
said.
“The largest increase was 54
percent for $1.2 billion in milk sales,” he said.
Poultry values rose 12 percent to
$1.2 billion, while beef cattle totaled $7.1 billion (11 percent increase),
according to the report.
Other meat animals (hogs, goats,
sheep and other animals) rose to $375 million (2 percent increase) and
livestock products of honey, mohair and wool declined 7 percent to $12.2
million.
Ag related activities
(aquaculture, fishing, furs and pelts, horses, hunting leases, outdoor
land-based recreation, timber, Christmas trees, and miscellaneous
activities) advanced only 4 percent to $1.9 billion. Timber accounted for
about 42 percent, hunting about 26 percent, horses around 18 percent, and
other ag related about 14 percent.
Rural land as an investment
continues to be a growing trend, Anderson said.
“Uses include weekend retreats,
rural residences, outdoor recreation and part-time agricultural operations
continue to be things we are seeing across the state,” he said.
According to the first quarter
2008 survey of agricultural conditions by the Federal Reserve Bank of
Dallas, dryland crop values increased 20 percent from 2007 and irrigated
land rose 15 percent and ranchland rose 11 percent, Anderson said.
“With increasing demand for food
and fiber worldwide, agriculture is destined to play an even greater role in
the future,” Anderson said. “A large area of productive soils and excellent
export and transportation facilities favor farming and ranching operations.”
Wildlife management used to
improve hunting income continued to expand over most rural areas of Texas.
“Land with quail, dove, turkey,
pheasant, waterfowl, deer, wild hogs and nature trails for bird watching is
in strong demand from non-farm owners,” Anderson said.
Many ranchers have reduced or
removed cows in favor of increasing the amount and quality of wildlife, he
said.
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