Bailey County Electric Cooperative Association is a distribution cooperative (Texas 62 Bailey County) with headquarters in Muleshoe, Texas, serving portions of Bailey, Castro, Cochran, Lamb, and Parmer Counties in the high plains region of Texas. The cooperative also has a branch office in Morton, Texas. Bailey County's service area lies in the south-central Panhandle of Texas, and includes about 2,000 square miles at elevations of 3,500 to 4,400 feet. Farmland is found in both the northern and southern portions of the territory, which is separated by a strip of sand hills about 10 miles wide and extending from east to west across the area. This sand hill strip forms a dividing line between the 'north' and 'south' high plains of Texas. Underground water is plentiful in the sand hills and to the north, but south of the sand hills underground water is less plentiful and the territory is composed of mostly dry land farms and pastureland. All of the service area is flat plains country with occasional playa lakes and a few dry draws. Almost all of the land is tillable, except for a few of the roughest sand dunes and some of the draws and lakebeds. The growing season is approximately 190 days; it is slightly shorter north of the sand hills. Principal crops grown in the area are alfalfa, corn, cotton, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, vegetables, wheat, and irrigated pastures. The economy of the region is highly dependent on agricultural production, with changes affecting the population, load growth, and electricity sales. The maximum demand for electricity occurs during the summer, primarily from irrigation and air conditioning loads during the hot and dry periods.