Table 55. Selected Operator Characteristics for Principal, Second, and Third Operator: 2012 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
Characteristics 
All operators 1 
Principal operator 
Second operator 
Third operator 
Operators number 
100,555 
68,050 
28,362 
4,143 
Sex of operator: 
Male 
71,844 
60,280 
9,060 
2,504 
Spouse of principal operator 
2,515 
(X) 
2,458 
57 
Female 
28,711 
7,770 
19,302 
1,639 
Spouse of principal operator 
18,081 
(X) 
17,588 
493 
Primary occupation: 
Farming 
38,301 
28,454 
8,551 
1,296 
Other 
62,254 
39,596 
19,811 
2,847 
Place of residence: 
On farm operated 
80,259 
55,153 
22,691 
2,415 
Not on farm operated 
20,296 
12,897 
5,671 
1,728 
Days worked off farm: 
None 
35,494 
25,071 
9,223 
1,200 
Any 
65,061 
42,979 
19,139 
2,943 
1 to 49 days 
7,716 
4,950 
2,348 
418 
50 to 99 days 
4,922 
3,204 
1,449 
269 
100 to 199 days 
8,870 
5,808 
2,604 
458 
200 days or more 
43,553 
29,017 
12,738 
1,798 
Years on present farm: 
2 years or less 
4,133 
2,132 
1,508 
493 
3 or 4 years 
5,755 
3,112 
2,119 
524 
5 to 9 years 
16,532 
9,728 
5,853 
951 
10 years or more 
74,135 
53,078 
18,882 
2,175 
Years operating any farm (see text): 
2 years or less 
3,062 
1,465 
1,170 
427 
3 or 4 years 
4,792 
2,514 
1,785 
493 
5 to 9 years 
14,396 
8,227 
5,276 
893 
10 years or more 
78,305 
55,844 
20,131 
2,330 
Age group: 
Under 25 years 
1,496 
259 
609 
628 
25 to 34 years 
5,290 
2,564 
2,058 
668 
35 to 44 years 
12,089 
6,768 
4,616 
705 
45 to 54 years 
22,128 
14,141 
7,279 
708 
55 to 64 years 
28,533 
19,757 
8,042 
734 
65 to 74 years 
20,821 
16,131 
4,238 
452 
75 years and over 
10,198 
8,430 
1,520 
248 
Average age 
57.0 
59.2 
53.3 
45.8 
Number of persons living in household 
197,899 
167,766 
23,505 
6,628 
1 Data were collected for a maximum of three operators per farm. 
42 Tennessee 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
