Ranching Is Deep in Webb County's DNA

Ranch country fills much of Webb County: more than 2 million acres of farm and pasture land, with cattle, horses, and goats in the brush. Spanish land grants set that pattern in the 1700s. Sheep peaked in the 1880s, then cattle and goats again became the main story.

Not every acre is livestock. Onions and melons have also come from Webb County fields since the early 1900s. Still, most rural land here reads first as ranch land.

When buying acreage, check whether the tract already has ag valuation. That lower tax value may fit your plan, or it may trigger rollback taxes if the use changes.