Table 55. Selected Operator Characteristics for Principal, Second, and Third Operator: 2012 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
Characteristics 
All operators ^ 
Principal operator 
Second operator 
Third operator 
Operators number 
3,180,074 
2,109,303 
928,151 
142,620 
Sex of operator: 
Male 
2,210,402 
1,821,039 
302,043 
87,320 
Spouse of principal operator 
90,893 
(X) 
88,931 
1,962 
Female 
969,672 
288,264 
626,108 
55,300 
Spouse of principal operator 
583,393 
(X) 
568,012 
15,381 
Primary occupation: 
Farming 
1,412,077 
1 ,007,904 
342,317 
61,856 
Other 
1,767,997 
1,101,399 
585,834 
80,764 
Place of residence: 
On farm operated 
2,411,419 
1,621,591 
713,291 
76,537 
Not on farm operated 
768,655 
487,712 
214,860 
66,083 
Days worked off farm: 
None 
1,202,256 
823,659 
327,722 
50,875 
Any 
1,977,818 
1 ,285,644 
600,429 
91,745 
1 to 49 days 
266,715 
169,761 
82,551 
14,403 
50 to 99 days 
149,195 
92,876 
47,625 
8,694 
1 00 to 1 99 days 
283,044 
180,407 
89,527 
13,110 
200 days or more 
1,278,864 
842,600 
380,726 
55,538 
Years on present farm: 
2 years or less 
132,528 
68,180 
47,417 
16,931 
3 or 4 years 
186,511 
103,370 
66,450 
16,691 
5 to 9 years 
501,875 
297,548 
173,847 
30,480 
1 0 years or more 
2,359,160 
1 ,640,205 
640,437 
78,518 
Years operating any farm (see text): 
2 years or less 
99,369 
47,782 
36,929 
14,658 
3 or 4 years 
153,612 
82,324 
56,442 
14,846 
5 to 9 years 
436,053 
252,290 
155,403 
28,360 
1 0 years or more 
2,491,040 
1 ,726,907 
679,377 
84,756 
Age group: 
Under 25 years 
47,337 
10,714 
17,212 
19,411 
25 to 34 years 
210,117 
109,119 
76,610 
24,388 
35 to 44 years 
371,153 
214,106 
134,462 
22,585 
45 to 54 years 
739,512 
466,036 
245,524 
27,952 
55 to 64 years 
896,181 
608,052 
262,163 
25,966 
65 to 74 years 
600,945 
443,571 
143,306 
14,068 
75 years and over 
314,829 
257,705 
48,874 
8,250 
Average age 
56.3 
58.3 
53.4 
46.0 
Number of persons living in household 
6,496,604 
5,455,325 
799,605 
241,674 
' Data were collected for a maximum of three operators per farm. 
2012 Census of Agriculture - UNITED STATES DATA 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
United States 53 
