Table 70. Summary by Tenure of Principal Operator and by Operators on Farm: 2012 (continued) 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
Tenure of principal operator 
Operators on farm 
Item 
Total 
Full owners 
Part owners 
Tenants 
One operator 
More than one 
operator 
PRINCIPAL OPERATOR CHARACTERISTICS 
Sex of operator: 
Male 
43,765 
27,512 
13,497 
2,756 
27,592 
16,173 
Female 
6,453 
5,424 
724 
305 
3,065 
3,388 
Primary occupation: 
Farming 
24,574 
14,386 
8,559 
1,629 
15,278 
9,296 
Other 
25,644 
18,550 
5,662 
1,432 
15,379 
10,265 
Place of residence: 
On farm operated 
39,098 
25,837 
1 1 ,738 
1,523 
23,406 
15,692 
Not on farm operated 
11,120 
7,099 
2,483 
1,538 
7,251 
3,869 
Days worked off farm: 
None 
20,047 
12,714 
6,301 
1,032 
12,808 
7,239 
Any 
30,171 
20,222 
7,920 
2,029 
17,849 
12,322 
1 to 49 days 
3,864 
2,694 
924 
246 
2,514 
1,350 
50 to 99 days 
2,364 
1,662 
535 
167 
1,424 
940 
1 00 to 1 99 days 
4,390 
2,894 
1,205 
291 
2,688 
1,702 
200 days or more 
19,553 
12,972 
5,256 
1,325 
1 1 ,223 
8,330 
Years on present farm: 
2 years or less 
1,659 
1,142 
294 
223 
831 
828 
3 or 4 years 
2,459 
1,621 
491 
347 
1,262 
1,197 
5 to 9 years 
6,909 
4,758 
1,532 
619 
3,586 
3,323 
1 0 years or more 
39,191 
25,415 
11,904 
1,872 
24,978 
14,213 
Average years on present farm 
23.1 
22.5 
25.8 
16.8 
24.6 
20.7 
Years operating any farm (see text): 
2 years or less 
1,298 
913 
226 
159 
658 
640 
3 or 4 years 
2,030 
1,349 
383 
298 
1,023 
1,007 
5 to 9 years 
5,935 
4,130 
1,255 
550 
3,079 
2,856 
1 0 years or more 
40,955 
26,544 
12,357 
2,054 
25,897 
15,058 
Average years operating any farm 
25.0 
24.4 
27.8 
19.1 
26.4 
22.8 
Age group: 
Under 25 years 
220 
76 
58 
86 
146 
74 
25 to 34 years 
2,101 
881 
766 
454 
1,170 
931 
35 to 44 years 
4,932 
2,690 
1,691 
551 
2,588 
2,344 
45 to 49 years 
4,245 
2,580 
1,338 
327 
2,378 
1,867 
50 to 54 years 
6,146 
3,850 
1,885 
411 
3,515 
2,631 
55 to 59 years 
7,306 
4,712 
2,224 
370 
4,320 
2,986 
60 to 64 years 
7,818 
5,258 
2,225 
335 
4,887 
2,931 
65 to 69 years 
6,755 
4,786 
1,718 
251 
4,274 
2,481 
70 years and over 
10,695 
8,103 
2,316 
276 
7,379 
3,316 
Average age 
58.9 
60.6 
56.9 
50.2 
59.9 
57.2 
Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin (see text) 
493 
319 
154 
20 
267 
226 
Race: 
American Indian or Alaska Native 
596 
391 
168 
37 
428 
168 
Asian 
179 
150 
23 
6 
61 
118 
Black or African American 
1,637 
952 
500 
185 
1,172 
465 
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
White 
47,627 
31,322 
13,478 
2,827 
28,906 
18,721 
More than one race reported 
179 
121 
52 
6 
90 
89 
Farms by number of persons living in 
operator's household: 
1 person 
6,809 
4,820 
1,557 
432 
5,736 
1,073 
2 people 
27,084 
18,302 
7,423 
1,359 
15,994 
11,090 
3 people 
7,781 
4,776 
2,396 
609 
4,376 
3,405 
4 people 
5,942 
3,447 
2,026 
469 
3,195 
2,747 
5 or more people 
2,602 
1,591 
819 
192 
1,356 
1,246 
Percent of operator's total 
household income from farming: 
Less than 25 percent 
37,398 
27,313 
8,122 
1,963 
22,679 
14,719 
25 to 49 percent 
3,483 
1,783 
1,427 
273 
2,215 
1,268 
50 to 74 percent 
3,963 
1,846 
1,753 
364 
2,404 
1,559 
75 to 99 percent 
2,639 
1,057 
1,381 
201 
1,576 
1,063 
1 00 percent 
2,735 
937 
1,538 
260 
1,783 
952 
Operator is a hired manager farms 
1,434 
787 
498 
149 
787 
647 
acres 
841,175 
306,920 
478,246 
56,009 
401,445 
439,730 
Farms with- 
Internet access 
34,814 
22,596 
10,020 
2,198 
19,425 
15,389 
Dial-up service 
2,587 
1,645 
826 
116 
1,553 
1,034 
DSL service 
18,475 
12,006 
5,288 
1,181 
10,017 
8,458 
Cable modem service 
7,092 
4,653 
1,971 
468 
4,140 
2,952 
Fiber-optic service 
1,549 
992 
462 
95 
831 
718 
Mobile broadband plan for a computer 
or cell phone 
4,924 
2,996 
1,562 
366 
2,491 
2,433 
Satellite service 
3,330 
2,249 
893 
188 
1,818 
1,512 
Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) 
732 
464 
219 
49 
365 
367 
Other Internet service 
290 
199 
72 
19 
153 
137 
Farms by number of households sharing 
in net income of operation: 
1 household 
39,916 
26,881 
10,666 
2,369 
26,033 
13,883 
2 households 
8,051 
4,786 
2,708 
557 
3,643 
4,408 
3 households 
1,413 
790 
564 
59 
579 
834 
4 households 
579 
334 
186 
59 
277 
302 
5 or more households 
259 
145 
97 
17 
125 
134 
See footnote(s) at end of table. -continued 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
North Carolina 223 
