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 
60,280 
41,991 
16,220 
2,069 
35,624 
24,656 
Female 
7,770 
6,743 
825 
202 
4,064 
3,706 
Primary occupation: 
Farming 
28,454 
18,726 
8,779 
949 
17,109 
1 1 ,345 
Other 
39,596 
30,008 
8,266 
1,322 
22,579 
17,017 
Place of residence: 
On farm operated 
55,153 
39,524 
14,594 
1,035 
31,316 
23,837 
Not on farm operated 
12,897 
9,210 
2,451 
1,236 
8,372 
4,525 
Days worked off farm: 
None 
25,071 
18,122 
6,312 
637 
15,700 
9,371 
Any 
42,979 
30,612 
10,733 
1,634 
23,988 
18,991 
1 to 49 days 
4,950 
3,754 
1,025 
171 
3,058 
1,892 
50 to 99 days 
3,204 
2,327 
781 
96 
1,903 
1,301 
1 00 to 1 99 days 
5,808 
4,003 
1,599 
206 
3,323 
2,485 
200 days or more 
29,017 
20,528 
7,328 
1,161 
15,704 
13,313 
Years on present farm: 
2 years or less 
2,132 
1,537 
386 
209 
1,135 
997 
3 or 4 years 
3,112 
2,367 
488 
257 
1,398 
1,714 
5 to 9 years 
9,728 
7,419 
1,861 
448 
4,585 
5,143 
1 0 years or more 
53,078 
37,411 
14,310 
1,357 
32,570 
20,508 
Average years on present farm 
22.8 
22.3 
25.2 
15.8 
24.5 
20.4 
Years operating any farm (see text): 
2 years or less 
1,465 
1,110 
219 
136 
790 
675 
3 or 4 years 
2,514 
1,968 
345 
201 
1,171 
1,343 
5 to 9 years 
8,227 
6,327 
1,486 
414 
3,784 
4,443 
1 0 years or more 
55,844 
39,329 
14,995 
1,520 
33,943 
21,901 
Average years operating any farm 
25.0 
24.4 
27.6 
18.5 
26.6 
22.7 
Age group: 
Under 25 years 
259 
114 
57 
88 
139 
120 
25 to 34 years 
2,564 
1,357 
824 
383 
1,268 
1,296 
35 to 44 years 
6,768 
4,276 
2,067 
425 
3,275 
3,493 
45 to 49 years 
6,011 
4,004 
1,784 
223 
3,150 
2,861 
50 to 54 years 
8,130 
5,537 
2,312 
281 
4,490 
3,640 
55 to 59 years 
9,452 
6,698 
2,539 
215 
5,206 
4,246 
60 to 64 years 
10,305 
7,542 
2,516 
247 
6,051 
4,254 
65 to 69 years 
9,268 
6,874 
2,237 
157 
5,766 
3,502 
70 years and over 
15,293 
12,332 
2,709 
252 
10,343 
4,950 
Average age 
59.2 
60.5 
56.8 
49.6 
60.6 
57.2 
Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin (see text) 
467 
385 
64 
18 
247 
220 
Race: 
American Indian or Alaska Native 
281 
222 
50 
9 
168 
113 
Asian 
87 
76 
9 
2 
48 
39 
Black or African American 
992 
762 
182 
48 
676 
316 
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 
4 
4 
- 
- 
- 
4 
White 
66,460 
47,505 
16,746 
2,209 
38,684 
27,776 
More than one race reported 
226 
165 
58 
3 
112 
114 
Farms by number of persons living in 
operator's household: 
1 person 
9,341 
7,260 
1,747 
334 
7,910 
1,431 
2 people 
36,351 
26,699 
8,743 
909 
20,565 
15,786 
3 people 
10,289 
6,904 
2,965 
420 
5,434 
4,855 
4 people 
8,020 
5,166 
2,462 
392 
3,935 
4,085 
5 or more people 
4,049 
2,705 
1,128 
216 
1,844 
2,205 
Percent of operator's total 
household income from farming: 
Less than 25 percent 
55,478 
42,570 
11,266 
1,642 
32,022 
23,456 
25 to 49 percent 
5,109 
2,795 
2,089 
225 
3,172 
1,937 
50 to 74 percent 
3,984 
2,033 
1,768 
183 
2,349 
1,635 
75 to 99 percent 
1,911 
792 
1,014 
105 
1,151 
760 
1 00 percent 
1,568 
544 
908 
116 
994 
574 
Operator is a hired manager farms 
1,107 
733 
317 
57 
696 
411 
acres 
378,193 
148,336 
211,374 
18,483 
225,606 
152,587 
Farms with- 
Internet access 
44,001 
30,736 
11,714 
1,551 
22,974 
21,027 
Dial-up service 
4,836 
3,391 
1,302 
143 
2,630 
2,206 
DSL service 
17,579 
12,101 
4,846 
632 
9,134 
8,445 
Cable modem service 
8,811 
6,326 
2,140 
345 
4,737 
4,074 
Fiber-optic service 
1,322 
870 
405 
47 
679 
643 
Mobile broadband plan for a computer 
or cell phone 
9,093 
6,243 
2,470 
380 
4,424 
4,669 
Satellite service 
6,226 
4,451 
1,632 
143 
3,106 
3,120 
Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) 
988 
715 
236 
37 
546 
442 
Other Internet service 
494 
372 
104 
18 
219 
275 
Farms by number of households sharing 
in net income of operation: 
1 household 
54,168 
39,667 
12,700 
1,801 
33,412 
20,756 
2 households 
11,363 
7,550 
3,457 
356 
5,140 
6,223 
3 households 
1,575 
937 
572 
66 
933 
4 households 
657 
401 
228 
28 
291 
5 or more households 
287 
179 
88 
20 
159 
See footnote(s) at end of table. -continued 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
Tennessee 223 
