Lubbock and Texas Agriculture Facts
- Producers in the Lubbock area generate more than 30% of total agricultural production in Texas.
- The 2010 area cotton crop generated $2 billion from cotton lint at the farm level. and $344 million in cottonseed.
- The South Plains produces 66% of the Texas cotton crop, 30% of U.S. cotton and almost 5% of the entire world’s cotton.
- More than 3.5 million acres of cotton are planted every year in this area. That is more than 400,000 acres larger than the state of Connecticut!
- The South Plains produces, on average, about 4.25 million bales of cotton annually. That’s enough to make almost a billion pairs of jeans, or 1.738 billion men's sports shirts!
- Lubbock is home of the largest cottonseed cooperative serving the southern United States.
- In 2010, more than 160,000 acres of peanuts were planted in Texas, and more than 70% of Texas’ peanut production is in West Texas.
- Peanut growers in Texas harvest enough peanuts in a year to make about 6 billion peanut butter sandwiches!
- The South Plains has prime environmental conditions for growing crops such as poinsettias, chile peppers and grapes.
- Lubbock is emerging as a leader in the wine industry in Texas. In fact, at one time, Llano Estacado was the largest premium winery in the state.
- 70% of cattle fed in Texas can be found in area feed lots.
- Floydada, located about 45 miles northeast of Lubbock, is known as the “Pumpkin Capital of the USA.” Pumpkin farmers there produce hundreds of thousands of pumpkins each year.
- According to 2003 U.S. production estimates, Texas is the leading state in the production of
upland cotton and cottonseed, cattle and calves, sheep and lambs, goats, wool, mohair and hay.
- Agriculture generates $73 billion annually throughout the Texas economy.
- One of every seven working Texans works in an agriculture-related industry.
- Food, horticulture and fiber is the second largest industry in Texas.
- More than 80% of the land in Texas is used for agriculture-related production.
- Texas ranks 3rd in U. S. agriculture exports with exports valued at $3.5 billion annually.
Sources include Texas Farm Bureau, Texas Department of Agriculture; Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.; Floydada Chamber of Commerce
For more 2009 Lubbock Agriculture Facts, click on the Agrilife Extension image below:
