Agricultural Economics

In 2017, the agricultural sector of the Winter Garden and Southwest Texas (District-10) contributed $1.47 billion to the Texas economy. Of that amount approximately $622 million came from tillage agriculture, $685 million came from livestock production, and $160 million came from ag-related production. This region is about 21,602 square miles in size in Southwest Texas and produces commodity crops, forages, many varieties of vegetables and fruit commercially, cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. Also, several counties in this area produce exotic game and provide the hunting experience for many Texans who live contained in the urban and suburban areas of the state and others from outside Texas. Finally, this area also provides many acre-feet of scenic lakes and rivers for fishermen, river-rafters, and others who enjoy the outdoor regions of this beautiful area. Among some of the other natural resources of this area are natural gas and crude oil which has added additional dollars to the region’s GDP. Our goal is to assist regional farm and ranch stakeholders to ever refine the operation of their agricultural enterprises to maximize the returns of revenue and their overall enjoyment of their enterprise while at the same time trying to minimize their costs of operation. Finally, we strive to steer these stakeholders to the most efficient and best-allocated use of the natural resources of the area so that we may be good stewards of the land.