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Terry County Ranch News: October Rain Pulls Brownfield Out of Severe Drought, but the Burn Ban Stays Listed

November 9, 2026  |  By Lee, Lee & Puckitt

Terry County Ranch News: October Rain Pulls Brownfield Out of Severe Drought, but the Burn Ban Stays Listed

In mid-September, Terry County farmers were watching dryland cotton shed its leaves in the heat and at least one ranch family was feeding protein because there was no green grass. Seven weeks later the picture is different. The U.S. Drought Monitor’s Nov. 3 map shows 73.71 percent of the county out of drought entirely, though Texas A&M Forest Service data still list a burn ban that began in March. Since our ranch Brokers work from San Angelo with owners statewide, we at Lee, Lee & Puckitt (LLP Ranchland) sorted out what the turnaround means around Brownfield, Meadow and Wellman.

From Severe Drought to Mostly Clear

TownTalk Radio in Brownfield reported on Sept. 14 that 99.81 percent of Terry County was in severe drought. August had been the county’s 17th driest in 132 years of records, and the first eight months of 2026 ran 3.89 inches below normal. Producers described dying dryland crops, irrigation that could not keep up and cattle on protein.

Then the rain came. The Drought Monitor showed severe drought shrinking to about 25 percent of the county on the Oct. 6 map and less than 1 percent by mid-October. On Nov. 3, 73.71 percent of the county showed no drought, 26.29 percent was abnormally dry and only 0.88 percent stayed in moderate drought. One wet month does not refill the soil profile after a summer like this, so watch subsoil moisture and groundwater going into 2027.

Burn Ban Still on the Books

The Forest Service feed checked Nov. 9 listed a countywide burn ban effective March 27, 2026, more than 220 days old. With grass greening and the drought map improved, commissioners could revisit the order, so call the county judge’s office before burning anything.

Harvest and Wheat

AgriLife’s Nov. 3 report for the South Plains district said repeated showers of half an inch to 3 inches kept fields wet. Cotton harvest slowed sharply and most gins finished the cotton already delivered. Winter wheat was going in as fast as producers could plant it to catch the moisture, although topsoil crusting caused germination problems in many fields. Pasture grasses greened up during sunny breaks, and livestock conditions improved slightly in places. Statewide, USDA’s Nov. 2 Crop Progress report put Texas cotton 61 percent harvested, ahead of the 48 percent five-year average.

Costs are the other half of the story. A Texas Farm Bureau report on Nov. 5 profiled a cotton farmer in neighboring Crosby County whose yields were running about half of last year and who expected diesel costs to roughly double. Margins like that shape winter decisions on leases, equipment and land.

Hunting Dates

TPWD lists Terry County in the North Zone for white-tailed deer, with a bag of 3 deer, no more than 1 buck, and a general season of Nov. 7, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027. Panhandle mule deer rules apply. A legal mule deer buck must have an outside spread of at least 20 inches, archery runs through Nov. 20, and general season is Nov. 21 through Dec. 6. Quail season is open through Feb. 28.

Land Market Snapshot

The Texas Real Estate Research Center groups Terry County with Lubbock-area and Permian Basin neighbors in its Panhandle-South Plains region. The second quarter 2026 report, still the most recent, showed a regional median of $1,719 an acre, down 7.53 percent from a year earlier, with a typical tract of 403 acres and 313 sales. On the South Plains, water is a big part of value. Well capacity, irrigation equipment and water district rules can put two farms of the same size far apart in price, so a pivot farm and a dryland quarter should never be priced off the same number.

Call Lee, Lee & Puckitt

Whether you are weighing a sale, shopping for farmland or need a value for an estate, our Brokers and Agents can help. Call 325.655.6989 or visit llpranchland.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a ranch Broker serving Terry County? Yes. Lee, Lee & Puckitt, based in San Angelo since 1977, has represented Texas farm and ranch buyers and sellers since 1962, including South Plains properties.

Where can I find land for sale in Terry County? Look through llpranchland.com and call 325.655.6989. Let us know the acreage, irrigation and use you want, and we will share what regional sales are showing.

What makes the best ranch Broker for Terry County farmland? A long history of closed rural sales, real knowledge of irrigated and dryland farming and water, and appraisals or Broker’s Price Opinions supported by comparable sales.

Is Terry County still in drought? Mostly not. The Nov. 3, 2026, Drought Monitor showed 73.71 percent of the county out of drought and 0.88 percent in moderate drought, after severe drought covered nearly all of it in September.

About Lee, Lee & Puckitt

Bronte was home to Lee, Lee & Puckitt from its 1962 founding until the move to San Angelo in 1977. The partners are ranchers, and our Brokers and Agents provide ranch and farm sales, appraisals and Broker’s Price Opinions while working on behalf of landowners and their property rights.

Sources

Photo: Aualliso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Terry_County_Courthouse_August_2020.jpg). Cropped.

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