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 
60,280 
25,374 
107 
730 
1,595 
3,457 
6,499 
12,986 
Female 
7,770 
3,080 
2 
151 
303 
595 
810 
1,219 
Primary occupation: 
Farming 
28,454 
28,454 
109 
881 
1,898 
4,052 
7,309 
14,205 
Other 
39,596 
- 
- 
- 
- 
Place of residence: 
On farm operated 
55,153 
24,358 
56 
632 
1,543 
3,414 
6,273 
12,440 
Not on farm operated 
12,897 
4,096 
53 
249 
355 
638 
1,036 
1,765 
Days worked off farm: 
None 
25,071 
18,494 
23 
320 
758 
1,928 
4,435 
11,030 
Any 
42,979 
9,960 
86 
561 
1,140 
2,124 
2,874 
3,175 
1 to 49 days 
4,950 
2,111 
9 
87 
133 
319 
678 
885 
50 to 99 days 
3,204 
1,501 
10 
57 
158 
283 
449 
544 
100 to 199 days 
5,808 
1,891 
14 
75 
203 
436 
577 
586 
200 days or more 
29,017 
4,457 
53 
342 
646 
1,086 
1,170 
1,160 
Years on present farm: 
2 years or less 
2,132 
736 
33 
148 
121 
153 
168 
113 
3 or 4 years 
3,112 
1,059 
38 
149 
169 
245 
250 
208 
5 to 9 years 
9,728 
3,229 
38 
298 
461 
670 
869 
893 
10 years or more 
53,078 
23,430 
" 
286 
1,147 
2,984 
6,022 
12,991 
Average years on present farm 
22.8 
26.2 
3.8 
7.5 
12.3 
18.2 
23.3 
33.1 
Years operating any farm (see text): 
2 years or less 
1,465 
436 
31 
70 
65 
94 
101 
75 
3 or 4 years 
2,514 
805 
35 
159 
121 
156 
179 
155 
5 to 9 years 
8,227 
2,740 
43 
293 
398 
598 
701 
707 
10 years or more 
55,844 
24,473 
- 
359 
1,314 
3,204 
6,328 
13,268 
Average years operating any farm 
25.0 
28.6 
4.1 
8.7 
13.9 
20.1 
25.8 
35.8 
Age group: 
Under 25 years 
259 
109 
109 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
25 to 34 years 
2,564 
881 
- 
881 
- 
- 
- 
- 
35 to 44 years 
6,768 
1,898 
- 
- 
1,898 
- 
- 
- 
45 to 49 years 
6,011 
1,670 
- 
- 
- 
1,670 
- 
- 
50 to 54 years 
8,130 
2,382 
- 
- 
- 
2,382 
- 
- 
55 to 59 years 
9,452 
3,070 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3,070 
- 
60 to 64 years 
10,305 
4,239 
- 
- 
- 
- 
4,239 
- 
65 to 69 years 
9,268 
5,187 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
5,187 
70 years and over 
15,293 
9,018 
- 
- 
- 
" 
9,018 
Average age 
59.2 
62.6 
21.3 
30.4 
40.0 
50.1 
60.1 
72.8 
Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin (see text) 
467 
191 
- 
5 
20 
35 
72 
59 
Race: 
American Indian or Alaska Native 
281 
104 
- 
- 
4 
25 
43 
32 
Asian 
87 
35 
- 
2 
3 
14 
2 
14 
Black or African American 
992 
422 
4 
13 
21 
55 
114 
215 
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 
4 
3 
- 
- 
- 
- 
3 
- 
White 
66,460 
27,790 
105 
864 
1,864 
3,938 
7,118 
13,901 
More than one race reported 
226 
100 
" 
2 
6 
20 
29 
43 
Farms by number of persons living in 
operator's household: 
1 person 
9,341 
3,975 
24 
95 
159 
474 
891 
2,332 
2 people 
36,351 
17,150 
20 
201 
409 
1,636 
4,748 
10,136 
3 people 
10,289 
3,594 
41 
208 
348 
843 
1,028 
1,126 
4 people 
8,020 
2,410 
13 
215 
645 
717 
408 
412 
5 or more people 
4,049 
1,325 
11 
162 
337 
382 
234 
199 
Percent of operator's total 
household income from farming: 
Less than 25 percent 
55,478 
19,405 
64 
509 
1,214 
2,457 
4,836 
10,325 
25 to 49 percent 
5,109 
3,041 
7 
81 
174 
355 
708 
1,716 
50 to 74 percent 
3,984 
2,904 
17 
118 
197 
404 
696 
1,472 
75 to 99 percent 
1,911 
1,624 
13 
85 
119 
318 
400 
689 
1 00 percent 
1,568 
1,480 
8 
88 
194 
518 
669 
3 
Operator is a hired manager farms 
1,107 
617 
8 
37 
89 
142 
171 
170 
acres 
378,193 
298,672 
1,364 
27,172 
52,751 
53,201 
89,744 
74,440 
Farms with- 
Internet access 
44,001 
16,916 
87 
658 
1,474 
2,813 
4,861 
7,023 
Dial-up service 
4,836 
2,109 
7 
41 
135 
260 
547 
1,119 
DSL service 
17,579 
6,664 
29 
245 
635 
1,222 
1,937 
2,596 
Cable modem service 
8,811 
3,121 
6 
93 
220 
528 
898 
1,376 
Fiber-optic service 
1,322 
489 
3 
15 
33 
78 
145 
215 
Mobile broadband plan for a computer 
or cell phone 
9,093 
3,344 
35 
246 
396 
538 
939 
1,190 
Satellite service 
6,226 
2,641 
19 
66 
169 
408 
789 
1,190 
Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) 
988 
408 
- 
10 
28 
70 
110 
190 
Other Internet service 
494 
194 
- 
5 
25 
34 
55 
75 
Farms by number of households sharing 
in net income of operation: 
1 household 
54,168 
21,596 
93 
707 
1,491 
3,148 
5,686 
10,471 
2 households 
1 1 ,363 
5,654 
14 
116 
254 
686 
1,333 
3,251 
3 households 
1,575 
740 
2 
31 
61 
118 
192 
336 
4 households 
657 
326 
- 
13 
58 
73 
74 
108 
5 or more households 
287 
138 
- 
14 
34 
27 
24 
39 
See footnote(s) at end of table. -continued 
204 Tennessee 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
