Texas Soil by the Numbers: What We’re Really Rebuilding

“Regenerative agriculture” sounds hopeful. But the word regenerate only means something if we know what was lost.

Across Texas, farmers are talking about rebuilding soil — restoring water-holding capacity, carbon, and microbial life to the land. But what happened to Texas soil in the first place? And how do we know it’s not just a feel-good story?

Here’s the data behind the headlines.

🌱 Why Soil Health Matters Here

Soil isn’t just dirt. It’s the living foundation of Texas food and water systems.

Healthy soil absorbs rain, buffers drought, and feeds plants without constant fertilizer. Degraded soil sheds water, erodes easily, and stores less carbon.

Over the past century, intensive tillage, overgrazing, and bare seasonal fields have stripped much of that life away — leaving thinner topsoil and lower organic matter across millions of acres.

In a state that cycles between drought and flood, that difference can decide whether a farm survives or fails.

🌾 Why We Measure Topsoil and Organic Matter

When scientists and farmers talk about “building soil,” they’re really talking about organic matter — the carbon-rich component of topsoil made from decayed roots, microbes, and plant residues.

The deeper subsoil still holds minerals, but it can’t easily rebuild fertility or structure on a human timescale. That’s why topsoil — the top 6–10 inches of living, breathing earth — is what really matters. It’s where almost all the water storage, nutrient cycling, and biological life take place.

Before widespread cultivation, many Texas grassland and savanna soils held 3–4% organic matter in that top layer. Today, many cropped fields test below 1%.

That single number tells a powerful story: soil that once acted like a sponge now behaves more like dust.

When we measure organic matter, we’re measuring the part of the land we can actually heal.

📉 The Measurable Decline

The data are sobering but clear.

1. Erosion

1. Water erosion has stripped away an estimated 40–60% of original topsoil in parts of the Texas High Plains and Rolling Plains since the 1900s (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, 2023).
2. Modeling by the USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) shows average sheet and rill erosion at 0.86 tons/acre/year on cropland with conservation practices — and 1.26 tons/acre/year without them, a 32% difference.
3. Wind erosion remains severe on exposed fields, averaging up to 14 tons of soil per acre per year in some Panhandle counties (Texas Center, 2023).

2. Loss of Soil Carbon and Organic Matter

1. CEAP data for the Texas Gulf Basin estimate that conventional management loses about 232 lb C/acre/year, while conservation management reduces that to 183 lb C/acre/year — still a loss, but a smaller one.
2. Over time, these small annual differences determine whether land becomes progressively richer or poorer in life.

3. Water-Holding Capacity and Infiltration

1. Degraded soils often absorb less than half an inch of rainfall per hour; healthy soils can take in 1–2 inches.
2. The difference shows up during every storm: one field floods while another soaks it in.

4. Biological Decline

1. USDA–ARS work in Central Texas shows managed cropland systems have weaker soil-health indicators and altered microbial communities compared with remnant native prairie, with grazing systems performing closest to prairie conditions.
2. Microbes drive nutrient cycling, root health, and plant resilience — meaning the invisible loss is just as serious as the visible one.

🧩 Case Studies and Long-Term Data

Central Texas – Riesel Watershed (USDA–ARS)

More than 70 years of rainfall and soil-loss records show that plots with cover crops or small-grain residue lose dramatically less soil than bare fallow. In extreme rain events, cover-cropped fields may lose only one-tenth the sediment of conventionally tilled plots.

Texas Gulf Coast – CEAP Modeling

The CEAP report found that conservation practices (reduced tillage, contour farming, nutrient management) cut sediment loss by roughly 52% at the field edge compared to a “no-practice” baseline. Even so, carbon loss continued — showing that conservation slows degradation but doesn’t reverse it overnight.

West Texas – Sandy Soils

AgriLife researchers note that sandy soils in West Texas are especially fragile. Tilling or removing residue rapidly depletes the little organic matter they hold, while retaining crop stubble can help rebuild carbon over time.

🌤️ Signs of Hope

Not all the news is bad.

The same CEAP data show measurable progress where conservation has taken hold:

1. Sediment losses in the Texas Gulf Basin dropped by about 0.4 tons/acre/year between the early 2000s and 2020s.
2. Long-term no-till and cover-crop fields are beginning to regain organic matter at rates of 0.1–0.3 percentage points per year, depending on rainfall and soil type.
3. Pasture conversions and perennial buffers nearly eliminate erosion in model scenarios, serving as “anchors” for surrounding cropland.

These gains may sound small, but they represent a crucial turning point: from extraction to restoration.

🔍 What the Data Don’t Yet Show

1. Baselines are uncertain. No one sampled soils before they were plowed, so researchers rely on analog prairies to infer past conditions.
2. Most data are modeled. Field-scale measurements exist for specific research sites but not for every county.
3. Depth matters. Most studies focus on the top few inches of soil; deeper carbon and microbial layers remain understudied.
4. Extreme events dominate. The biggest storms cause most of the erosion, so annual averages can understate true losses.

Understanding these limits helps us read “regenerative” claims more critically — not to doubt them, but to ask better questions.

🪶 What It Means for Visitors and Consumers

The story of Texas soil isn’t just about loss. It’s also about learning how much life can return once we let it.

When you visit a farm that practices composting, rotational grazing, or cover cropping, you’re seeing pieces of this recovery in real time. You can ask:

1. How do you measure your soil health?
2. What changes have you seen in water infiltration or organic matter?
3. Do you share your soil test results with the public?

Those conversations turn buzzwords into accountability — and help all of us understand what real regeneration looks like.

🌾 Related Reading

If you’re wondering what farmers are actually doing to rebuild these soils, see our companion post: Regenerative Agriculture in Texas: Real Change or Rebranded Common Sense — a closer look at how “regeneration” is defined, measured, and sometimes misused, and how to tell when it’s making a real difference.

📏 Understanding the Numbers: How Organic Matter Is Measured

When soil labs test for organic matter (OM), they usually dry and weigh a soil sample, then heat it until the organic carbon burns off. The weight difference — known as loss on ignition — shows how much living and decomposed material was present.

That result is expressed as a percentage of total soil weight.

1. A prairie soil at 4% OM is dark, rich, and full of structure.
2. A depleted cropland at 0.8% looks pale, crusts easily, and holds far less water.

Each 1% increase in organic matter can help soil store roughly 20,000 gallons of additional water per acre and several tons of carbon.

Those tiny percentage changes represent real gains in resilience, not just numbers on a lab report.

❓ FAQ: Texas Soil Health

How much topsoil has Texas lost?

Researchers from USDA and Texas A&M AgriLife estimate that 40–60% of original topsoil has eroded in parts of the High Plains and Rolling Plains since the early 1900s. In some areas, plowing, grazing, and wind have thinned topsoil depth by several inches — enough to affect water storage and crop yields.

Why is organic matter so important in soil?

Organic matter is what makes soil “alive.” It holds water, feeds microbes, and helps nutrients stay available to plants. Each 1% increase can store roughly 20,000 additional gallons of water per acre and improve structure so rain soaks in instead of running off.

Can Texas farms actually rebuild their soil?

Yes — but it takes time. Long-term studies from USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) show that practices like cover cropping, no-till planting, and rotational grazing can raise organic matter by 0.1–0.3 percentage points per year, depending on rainfall and soil type.

What causes soil degradation in Texas?

The main drivers are intensive tillage, overgrazing, and bare fields between crops. These practices expose soil to wind and heavy rain, leading to erosion and the gradual loss of organic carbon.

How can visitors or consumers support soil health?

Choose to visit or buy from farms that build soil instead of depleting it. Look for producers who use compost, cover crops, or managed grazing — and don’t hesitate to ask how they measure their soil health. Each of those choices helps sustain the land beneath our food.

📚 References

1. USDA NRCS (2015). Assessment of the Effects of Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Texas Gulf Basin (CEAP Report). 
2. USDA NRCS (2024). Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Lower Mississippi & Texas Gulf Coast Region (CEAP I vs CEAP II). 
3. USDA–ARS (2015). Large-Event Erosion in the Riesel Watershed.
4. Texas Almanac (2023). Soils of Texas.
5. Texas A&M AgriLife Today (2024). Soil Moisture Conditions Expected to Worsen Across State.
6. Ecological Indicators (2022). Links of microbial and vegetation communities with soil properties in grassland ecosystems.
7. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Know Your Texas Soils and Soil Preparation.