El Campo is a hub of the Texas rice belt. Rice has anchored the town since the turn of the last century: by 1904 seventy rice farms and 126 pumping stations were operating around it, and the El Campo Rice Milling Company was founded in 1903. Texas rice acreage runs near 143,000 acres statewide, concentrated along the Gulf Coast in Wharton, Colorado, and Matagorda counties.
Wharton County counted 1,472 farms across 553,800 acres in 2022 and sold $393.8 million in agricultural products, 90 percent of it crops, ranking second in Texas for crop sales value. Corn leads at 85,111 harvested acres, followed by cotton at 63,053 and rice at 62,277. Irrigation is central, with 106,823 acres irrigated, and the Lower Colorado River Authority delivers Colorado River water through its Gulf Coast, Lakeside, Garwood, and Pierce Ranch divisions.
Agnomy connects El Campo-area growers with verified local service providers who understand rice levee and flood work, the ratoon second crop, and Gulf Coast harvest compression, making it easier to find, book, and manage the services your operation depends on.
