Table 69. Summary by Age and Primary Occupation of Principal Operator: 2012 (continued) 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
Total farming 
and other 
occupations 
Farming 
Item 
Total 
Age of operator (years) 
Under 25 
25 to 34 
35 to 44 
45 to 54 
55 to 64 
65 and over 
PRINCIPAL OPERATOR CHARACTERISTICS 
Sex of operator: 
Male 
29,656 
17,982 
170 
1,472 
2,021 
4,089 
5,254 
4,976 
Female 
2,333 
862 
8 
17 
87 
158 
204 
388 
Primary occupation: 
Farming 
18,844 
18,844 
178 
1,489 
2,108 
4,247 
5,458 
5,364 
Other 
13,145 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Place of residence: 
On farm operated 
24,334 
15,952 
118 
1,100 
1,710 
3,692 
4,750 
4,582 
Not on farm operated 
7,655 
2,892 
60 
389 
398 
555 
708 
782 
Days worked off farm: 
None 
14,049 
12,234 
83 
692 
1,074 
2,587 
3,682 
4,116 
Any 
17,940 
6,610 
95 
797 
1,034 
1,660 
1,776 
1,248 
1 to 49 days 
2,991 
2,010 
28 
253 
311 
508 
515 
395 
50 to 99 days 
1,190 
786 
6 
93 
114 
181 
205 
187 
1 00 to 1 99 days 
2,208 
1,065 
18 
107 
176 
265 
283 
216 
200 days or more 
11,551 
2,749 
43 
344 
433 
706 
773 
450 
Years on present farm: 
2 years or less 
787 
303 
29 
94 
70 
40 
47 
23 
3 or 4 years 
1,268 
565 
70 
216 
108 
55 
67 
49 
5 to 9 years 
3,569 
1,500 
79 
592 
264 
251 
185 
129 
1 0 years or more 
26,365 
16,476 
- 
587 
1,666 
3,901 
5,159 
5,163 
Average years on present farm 
25.5 
28.8 
4.3 
8.5 
15.4 
24.7 
31.2 
41.5 
Years operating any farm (see text): 
2 years or less 
535 
176 
29 
49 
36 
23 
21 
18 
3 or 4 years 
949 
402 
66 
181 
55 
36 
38 
26 
5 to 9 years 
3,000 
1,233 
83 
576 
205 
185 
105 
79 
1 0 years or more 
27,505 
17,033 
- 
683 
1,812 
4,003 
5,294 
5,241 
Average years operating any farm 
27.4 
30.8 
4.5 
9.2 
16.8 
26.1 
33.2 
44.3 
Age group: 
Under 25 years 
258 
178 
178 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
25 to 34 years 
2,631 
1,489 
- 
1,489 
- 
- 
- 
- 
35 to 44 years 
3,922 
2,108 
- 
- 
2,108 
- 
- 
- 
45 to 49 years 
3,034 
1,670 
- 
- 
- 
1,670 
- 
- 
50 to 54 years 
4,411 
2,577 
- 
- 
- 
2,577 
- 
- 
55 to 59 years 
4,639 
2,782 
- 
- 
- 
- 
2,782 
- 
60 to 64 years 
4,543 
2,676 
- 
- 
- 
- 
2,676 
- 
65 to 69 years 
3,188 
1,986 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1,986 
70 years and over 
5,363 
3,378 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3,378 
Average age 
55.9 
56.4 
22.6 
30.4 
39.6 
50.2 
59.4 
73.2 
Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin (see text) 
200 
124 
6 
12 
17 
37 
25 
27 
Race: 
American Indian or Alaska Native 
817 
494 
- 
50 
77 
124 
115 
128 
Asian 
5 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Black or African American 
6 
2 
- 
- 
- 
- 
2 
- 
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
White 
31,052 
18,289 
178 
1,426 
2,023 
4,110 
5,327 
5,225 
More than one race reported 
109 
59 
- 
13 
8 
13 
14 
11 
Farms by number of persons living in 
operator's household: 
1 person 
4,792 
2,868 
64 
243 
288 
538 
744 
991 
2 people 
15,111 
9,201 
49 
296 
260 
1,298 
3,523 
3,775 
3 people 
4,295 
2,431 
28 
335 
254 
872 
630 
312 
4 people 
4,167 
2,332 
17 
362 
585 
851 
339 
178 
5 or more people 
3,624 
2,012 
20 
253 
721 
688 
222 
108 
Percent of operator's total 
household income from farming: 
Less than 25 percent 
14,268 
4,526 
41 
315 
448 
896 
1,079 
1,747 
25 to 49 percent 
3,140 
1,610 
10 
127 
173 
277 
368 
655 
50 to 74 percent 
4,697 
3,481 
40 
304 
398 
677 
773 
1,289 
75 to 99 percent 
5,600 
5,037 
43 
419 
547 
1,098 
1,273 
1,657 
1 00 percent 
4,284 
4,190 
44 
324 
542 
1,299 
1,965 
16 
Operator is a hired manager farms 
1,168 
806 
16 
77 
138 
170 
225 
180 
acres 
3,663,551 
2,925,770 
12,912 
149,546 
380,1 73 
526,768 
1,037,312 
819,059 
Farms with- 
Internet access 
24,110 
14,281 
147 
1,296 
1,809 
3,553 
4,230 
3,246 
Dial-up service 
2,021 
1,365 
9 
81 
116 
302 
458 
399 
DSL service 
8,570 
5,297 
57 
477 
761 
1,337 
1,586 
1,079 
Cable modem service 
4,018 
1,869 
26 
152 
189 
410 
535 
557 
Fiber-optic service 
4,765 
3,288 
27 
282 
398 
882 
941 
758 
Mobile broadband plan for a computer 
or cell phone 
3,864 
2,057 
47 
300 
332 
478 
500 
400 
Satellite service 
3,578 
2,274 
12 
164 
254 
575 
677 
592 
Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) 
644 
344 
3 
23 
21 
94 
75 
128 
Other Internet service 
553 
282 
4 
25 
30 
79 
97 
47 
Farms by number of households sharing 
in net income of operation: 
1 household 
24,737 
13,923 
156 
1,213 
1,626 
3,197 
4,000 
3,731 
2 households 
5,245 
3,616 
20 
197 
333 
742 
1,068 
1,256 
3 households 
1,155 
810 
2 
57 
71 
165 
249 
266 
4 households 
502 
288 
- 
10 
36 
88 
86 
68 
5 or more households 
350 
207 
- 
12 
42 
55 
55 
43 
See footnote(s) at end of table. --continued 
200 South Dakota 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
