Texas

A

Agriculture

In 2005 there were 230,000 ranches and farms in Texas. Some 32 percent had annual sales of more than $10,000. Many of the others were sidelines for operators who held other jobs. Farmland occupied 52.5 million hectares (129.8 million acres). Most of the land on farms was rangeland, and only 29 percent was cropland.

Texas ranked second among the states in income from sales of all farm products, fifth in income from crop sales, and first in income from sales of livestock and animal products in 1997. The crops grown range from those typical of temperate climates, such as the wheat and sorghum grain grown in the High Plains, to those that thrive along the subtropical Gulf Coast, such as rice and citrus fruits. Texas leads the nation in the production of cattle and of sheep and lambs. It is also an important producer of cotton, sorghum grain, wheat, dairy products, rice, corn, vegetables, poultry and eggs, greenhouse and nursery products, hogs, peanuts, hay, and oranges. Cattle, cotton lint, poultry and eggs, and dairy products are the leading sources of farm income. Proceeds from livestock sales accounted for 67 percent of total farm income in 2004.

The ranches of Texas raise Hereford, Shorthorn, Angus, and Brahman cattle. The Santa Gertrudis, the only recognized breed to be started in the United States, was developed on the King Ranch in south Texas. Cattle production has shifted from the drier areas of western Texas to the more humid eastern sections. Cattle ranching is heavily concentrated along the Gulf Coast and in the southern Río Grande plain south of the Edwards Plateau. The drier areas in western Texas, notably the Edwards Plateau, have remained important for the production of sheep and goats. Texas is especially famous for its Angora goats, which yield most of the mohair produced in the United States.

A

1

Patterns of Farming

One of the most important developments in Texas’s agriculture has been the westward movement of cotton production. This shift has been stimulated by the increased use of irrigation, employed on 14 percent of the state’s cropland. Cotton, long the chief crop in the Black Prairies of eastern Texas, has become a major crop in the irrigated areas of the High Plains. Grain sorghum is the other major crop on these irrigated lands. Irrigation agriculture is also important in portions of the lower Río Grande Valley, where vegetables, citrus fruits, sugarcane, and cotton are grown. Farther north, in the area known as the Winter Garden, centered on Crystal City, vegetables and melons are the leading crops. They are also grown under irrigation. Around El Paso and Pecos, lands are irrigated mainly for cotton production. Rice culture, also under irrigation, dominates the Texas Gulf Coast from the Louisiana-Texas border to Lavaca Bay.

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Most of the corn and wheat grown in Texas is dryfarmed, or grown without irrigation. Corn is grown in central and eastern Texas, and wheat, also irrigated in places, comes mainly from the plains of the Panhandle.

B

Fisheries

With its long Gulf coastline, which includes numerous bays and estuaries, commercial fishing in Texas is almost exclusively a saltwater business. Shellfish are the most valuable catch, with shrimp accounting for nearly nine-tenths of the income from fishing in 1997. Smaller quantities of crabs and oysters are taken. The most important commercial finfish include snapper, black drum, and tuna. Leading centers of commercial fishing are Brownsville-Port Isabel, Aransas Pass-Rockport, and Freeport. Menhaden, an inedible fish used for animal feeds, industrial oils, and fertilizer, is also caught.

C

Forestry

Peak production in lumber was reached in the early years of the 20th century, and thereafter it declined as a result of the severe depletion of forest resources. The cut has increased, however, since the 1930s because of the emphasis placed on the scientific cutting of trees and on reforestation practices. The yellow pine is the most valuable tree crop. Harvested from the forests of eastern Texas, in the area of Lufkin and Camden, the timber is used chiefly in the manufacture of pulp and paper. Some hardwood is also cut and utilized for furniture and construction lumber.

D

Mining

Texas has for many years led all other states in the value of mineral production. Petroleum, natural gas, and natural gas liquids accounted for 93 percent of the mineral value in 1997. However, the reserves of oil and gas that were recoverable under existing economic and technological conditions were increasingly being depleted in the late 1990s.

The most valuable non-fuel minerals extracted in 1997 were portland cement, crushed stone, sand and gravel used for construction, salt, lime, and magnesium metal. Texas is the country’s leading supplier of magnesium. Texas is the second largest producer among the states of portland cement, crushed stone, salt, sulfur, gypsum, crude helium, ball clay, and talc.

Because a vast amount of equipment and relatively few workers are required in petroleum operations, only 2 percent of Texas wage earners are employed in mining activities. Mineral resources are widely distributed throughout the state, with some form of mineral wealth found in almost all of the 254 counties of Texas. Petroleum, the leading mineral, is produced in approximately 200 counties. However, there are three major petroleum-producing areas in the state: the East Texas Oil Field, centering on the city of Kilgore; the Texas Gulf Coast region; and the Permian Basin in western Texas. Of the seven leading petroleum-producing counties, all but one are in the west. In the interests of conservation, Texas closely regulates its petroleum production. Natural gas production in Texas is also widespread, but it is more highly concentrated than petroleum production. The leading gas producing counties are in the Gulf Coast and Permian Basin areas.

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