There were 213 farms operating in Luna County in 2022. (The map was provided courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture, 2024.)
There was an increase in the number of farms in Luna County during the ten years from 2012 to 2022. There was also a steady increase in the amount of acreage used for agricultural purposes in Luna County during that ten-year time period.
In 2022, there were 213 farms in Luna County. This was a 1% increase in the number of farms from 2017 when there were 211 farms in the county. The number of farms in 2017 was 11% more than the number of farms in 2012 in Luna County.
A total of 89% of these farms were family farms in 2022; the percentage was 96% in 2017.
These statistics – and other statistics detailed in this news series – are from reports issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA conducts its Census of Agriculture every five years. The results of the 2022 Census, the most recent one completed, were released earlier in 2024. This series of news columns includes information from that Census as well as the 2017 and 2012 Censuses of Agriculture.
Please note that the USDA redacted certain information from these reports.
Farms in Luna County included a total of 714,436 acres of land in 2022. This amount of acreage was a 24% increase in acreage used by farms from 2017 when 575,844 acres were used by farms in the county. That amount of acreage in 2017 was 5% more than the amount of acreage used by farms in Luna County in 2012.
The average size of a farm in Luna County in 2022 increased by 23% from the average size of a farm in 2017. In 2022, the average size of a farm in the county was 3,354 acres; in 2017, it was 2,729 acres. That average size of a farm in 2017 reflected a 6% decrease in the average size of a farm in the county from 2012.
Almost one-fourth (24%) of the farms in Luna County each included more than 1,000 acres in 2022; 51 farms were in this category. An equal percentage of the farms in the county each included 10 to 49 acres in 2022; 51 farms were in that category. One-fifth (20%) of the farms each included 50 to 179 acres in that year; 43 farms fit in this category.
Five years earlier, in 2017, one-fourth of the farms each had more than 1,000 acres in Luna County; 53 farms each had more than 1,000 acres in 2017. Almost one-fourth (23%) of the farms each included 10 to 49 acres in that year; 49 farms fit in this category. Farms with one to nine acres each (35 farms) represented 17% of all farms in Luna County in 2017.
The market value of products sold by farms in Luna County was $166,552,000 in 2022. This was a 113% increase from the market value of products sold by farms five years earlier. Then, the market value of products sold by farms in the county was $79,278,000; that value was a 27% increase from the market value of products sold in 2012.
More than one-fourth of the farms in Luna County had sales valued at less than $2,500 in 2022; 61 farms (29% of the total number of farms) fit in this category. In 2017, 40% of the farms in the county had sales valued at less than $2,500; 84 farms were in that category.
More than one-third (36%) of the farms in Luna County – 76 farms – each had sales valued at more than $100,000 in 2022. This was an increase from 2017 when 52 farms, representing 25% of all of the farms in the county, each had sales of that level in the county.
Of the $168,552,000 in market value of products sold by farms in Luna County in 2022, $97,220,000 were in crops and $71,332,000 were in livestock, poultry, and products.
The largest category of crops was vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes; products sold in this category were valued at $71,327,000 in 2022. Other large categories of crops sold in this year were fruits, tree nuts, and berries (valued at $9,264,000); “other crops and hay” (valued at $6,518,000); and cotton and cottonseed (valued at $5,678,000).
The largest category of livestock, poultry, and products was milk from cows; products in this category were valued at $48,323,000 in 2022. Another category within this group in that year included cattle and calves (valued at $19,754,000).
Of the $79,278,000 in market value of products sold by farms in Luna County in 2017, $48,403,000 were in crops and $30,875,000 were in livestock, poultry, and products.
The largest category of crops was vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes; products sold in this category were valued at $30,367,000 in 2017. Other large categories of crops sold in that year were “other crops and hay” (valued at $6,406,000); fruits, tree nuts, and berries (valued at $5,346,000); and cotton and cottonseed (valued at $3,763,000).
The only sizable category of livestock, poultry, and products specifically identified was cattle and calves; products in this category were valued at $10,384,000 in 2017.
Government payments to farms in Luna County increased 137% from $2,313,000 in 2017 to $5,485,000 in 2022. The government payments in 2017 were 57% more than the government payments made to farms in the county in 2012.
Net cash income of farms in Luna County increased 285% from 2017 to 2022. Net cash farm income was $45,838,000 in 2022 and $11,900,000 in 2017. The net cash farm income in 2017 was 27% higher than the net cash farm income in 2012.
There were 407 producers of agricultural products in Luna County in 2022. Of that number, 249 were male and 158 were female. Of the total number of producers, 143 were 65 years of age or older and 376 were White. One hundred and forty of the total number of producers were new and beginning farmers, 44 of the total had served in the United States military, and 105 of the total were of Hispanic origin.
There were 366 producers of agricultural products in Luna County in 2017. Of that number, 225 were male and 141 were female. Of the total number of producers, 103 were 65 years of age or older and 350 were White. One hundred and thirty-three of the total number of producers were new and beginning farmers, 36 of the total had served in the United States military, and 52 of the total were of Hispanic origin.
As of December 31, 2022, there were 37,589 cattle and calves, 583 egg-laying chickens, 364 horses and ponies, 345 goats, 320 pullets, 209 sheep and lambs, and 17 hogs and pigs in Luna County.
As of December 31, 2017, there were 26,639 cattle and calves, 463 egg-laying chickens, 294 goats, and 257 sheep and lambs in Luna County.
Information on agriculture in Hidalgo County will be detailed next week in Part Three of this news series, while details on agriculture in Catron County will be included in Part Four of this news series.
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