Some Landowners Diversify as Texas Working Land Declines
As a study documents the changing landscape for land use in Texas, some ranchers have turned to short term rentals of their ranchlands to generate cash.
Explore Ranches
Over a twenty year period, Texas lost 2.2 million acres of working lands, with 1.2 million of those being converted to non-agricultural use in the last five years alone, according to a new study of Texas land trends from 1997 to 2017 by Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute.
In West Texas, some owners and their heirs are looking for innovative ways to keep the land profitable and prevent fragmentation (the break-up of large farms, ranches and forests into smaller ownership sizes.)
As Texas’ population has exploded (up 48% during the study period,) urban sprawl is encroaching on formerly rural areas. Around major cities, land is fragmenting as owners subdivide land and develop it for residential or commercial use.
