Groundwater is the line item that sets a Parmer County farm’s value, and two pieces of water district news landed this fall. The High Plains Underground Water Conservation District board voted Oct. 13 to raise its permit application fee from $250 to $1,000, effective Oct. 14, and the district’s 2026 measurements show Parmer County water levels down 0.64 feet on average from 2025. Lee, Lee & Puckitt (LLP Ranchland), which brokers farms and ranches in the western Panhandle out of San Angelo, explains what owners and buyers around Farwell, Friona and Bovina should take from it.
The Fee Change
In its October 2026 newsletter, HPWD said the previous $250 fee had been in place since Jan. 1, 2014. The district pointed to higher costs for vehicles, fuel, equipment, insurance and staff, along with the field inspections and administrative review each application requires. Anyone planning a well that needs an HPWD permit should budget for the new fee and check the district’s current rules before a rig shows up.
What the 2026 Measurements Show
HPWD staff measured about 1,340 observation wells in the Ogallala and Edwards-Trinity (High Plains) aquifers in early 2026. District-wide, the average water level change was a decline of 0.57 feet, with an average saturated thickness of 51 feet.
Parmer County’s numbers, from 101 observation wells:
- Average change, 2025 to 2026: down 0.64 feet
- Average saturated thickness: 44 feet
- Five-year average change: down 4.75 feet
- Ten-year average change: down 10.97 feet
The one-year figure is modest. The ten-year figure is the one that shows up in a pump test and a buyer’s spreadsheet. HPWD’s interactive map at map.hpwd.org gives site-specific estimates, and it is worth pulling for any farm before it is listed or bought.
Water Questions That Move Price
For irrigated land here, buyers want to know how many wells are on the place, what each one pumps today, how the saturated thickness compares with the county average, and whether permits, registrations and meters are in order. Dryland and grass buyers care too, because domestic and livestock wells set how a place can be used. Good records on well depth, pump history and recent yields are among the most useful things a seller can put in front of a buyer.
Surface Conditions
On the Nov. 10 U.S. Drought Monitor map, Parmer County showed no drought at all, down from 100 percent of the county being abnormally dry or worse four weeks earlier. Drought.gov ranks January through October as the 37th wettest such stretch in 132 years. Even so, Texas A&M Forest Service data still list a countywide burn ban with an effective date of Oct. 2, 2025. Check with the county before lighting anything outdoors.
Texas A&M AgriLife’s Nov. 13 report for the Panhandle district said rain had delayed harvest for some growers by at least two weeks before drier days let cotton and feed grain harvest resume. Corn harvest was nearly complete, and winter wheat was 85 percent planted.
Cattle and Hunting
The nearest USDA-reported sale barn is Clovis, New Mexico. Its Nov. 11 sale averaged $400.24 per hundredweight on 171 head of 500 to 599 pound steers, according to USDA figures compiled by Cownty. Pheasant season opens Dec. 5 with a 3-cock daily bag, sandhill cranes are open in Zone A through Jan. 31, and pronghorn harvest is by permit only.
Panhandle Land Values
The Texas Real Estate Research Center’s second quarter 2026 report put Panhandle and South Plains rural land at $1,719 an acre, down 7.53 percent from a year earlier. On irrigated farms, water is usually the biggest reason a tract sells above or below that kind of regional figure.
Get a Read on Your Land
The Brokers and Agents at Lee, Lee & Puckitt help Parmer County owners price farms and ranches with water in mind. You can reach the team at 325.655.6989 or through llpranchland.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a ranch Broker who handles Parmer County farms and ranches? Yes. Lee, Lee & Puckitt, based in San Angelo, handles ranch and farm sales, appraisals and Broker’s Price Opinions in the western Panhandle, including Parmer County.
Where can I find land for sale in Parmer County? Look at current listings on llpranchland.com and call 325.655.6989 with the acreage, water and use you need.
How do I choose the best ranch Broker for Parmer County land? Look for a Broker who reads well records and saturated thickness, understands irrigated and dryland values, and prices from recent comparable sales.
How much did Parmer County groundwater levels change in 2026? HPWD measured an average decline of 0.64 feet in 101 Parmer County wells, with an average saturated thickness of 44 feet and a 10-year decline of 10.97 feet.
About Lee, Lee & Puckitt
Lee, Lee & Puckitt is a ranch and farm brokerage headquartered in San Angelo. The partners are ranchers, and the firm’s Brokers and Agents handle sales, appraisals and Broker’s Price Opinions from the Panhandle to the border.
Sources
- High Plains Underground Water Conservation District, The Cross Section newsletter, October 2026 (permit fee adjustment): https://www.hpwd.org/the-cross-section-newsletter-a-news-publication-of-the-high-plains-underground-water-conservation-district-no-1-october-2026
- High Plains Water District, 2026 water level measurements and county summary: https://www.hpwd.org/2026-water-level-measurements-are-complete
- Cownty, Parmer County page (U.S. Drought Monitor Nov. 10 map; USDA AMS Clovis sale of Nov. 11, 2026), checked Nov. 14, 2026: https://cownty.com/county/parmer-tx
- Drought.gov, Parmer County conditions, checked Nov. 14, 2026: https://www.drought.gov/states/texas/county/parmer
- Burn Ban Texas, Parmer County (Texas A&M Forest Service data), checked Nov. 14, 2026: https://burnbantexas.com/county/parmer
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas Crop and Weather Report, Nov. 13, 2026, by Adam Russell, as published in North Texas e-News: https://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_147455.shtml
- TPWD Outdoor Annual, Parmer County 2026-27: https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/regs/counties/parmer
- Texas Real Estate Research Center, Texas Rural Land Markets, Second Quarter 2026: https://trerc.tamu.edu/reports/texas-rural-land-markets-second-quarter-2026/
- Related: Land appraisals, Contact LLP Ranchland, Bailey County Ranch News: Cotton Comes Off Slowly Around Muleshoe as Drought Stays Off the Map
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parmer_County_Texas_Courthouse_2019.jpg). Cropped.
