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 
68,968 
46,030 
19,937 
3,001 
Sex of operator: 
Male 
47,346 
38,377 
7,241 
1,728 
Spouse of principal operator 
2,692 
(X) 
2,619 
73 
Female 
21,622 
7,653 
12,696 
1,273 
Spouse of principal operator 
11,579 
(X) 
11,285 
294 
Primary occupation: 
Farming 
28,403 
20,740 
6,573 
1,090 
Other 
40,565 
25,290 
13,364 
1,911 
Place of residence: 
On farm operated 
54,986 
37,370 
15,883 
1,733 
Not on farm operated 
13,982 
8,660 
4,054 
1,268 
Days worked off farm: 
None 
25,164 
17,648 
6,501 
1,015 
Any 
43,804 
28,382 
13,436 
1,986 
1 to 49 days 
5,461 
3,563 
1,597 
301 
50 to 99 days 
3,441 
2,182 
1,077 
182 
100 to 199 days 
5,835 
3,761 
1,776 
298 
200 days or more 
29,067 
18,876 
8,986 
1,205 
Years on present farm: 
2 years or less 
2,825 
1,344 
1,066 
415 
3 or 4 years 
4,084 
2,226 
1,586 
272 
5 to 9 years 
1 1 ,273 
6,629 
3,964 
680 
10 years or more 
50,786 
35,831 
13,321 
1,634 
Years operating any farm (see text): 
2 years or less 
2,224 
1,002 
864 
358 
3 or 4 years 
3,408 
1,802 
1,350 
256 
5 to 9 years 
9,795 
5,603 
3,547 
645 
10 years or more 
53,541 
37,623 
14,176 
1,742 
Age group: 
Under 25 years 
1,019 
175 
420 
424 
25 to 34 years 
4,062 
1,906 
1,609 
547 
35 to 44 years 
6,982 
3,877 
2,679 
426 
45 to 54 years 
15,906 
9,892 
5,470 
544 
55 to 64 years 
19,797 
13,683 
5,541 
573 
65 to 74 years 
13,762 
10,296 
3,162 
304 
75 years and over 
7,440 
6,201 
1,056 
183 
Average age 
57.2 
59.5 
53.5 
46.0 
Number of persons living in household 
135,245 
113,764 
16,740 
4,741 
1 Data were collected for a maximum of three operators per farm. 
42 Virginia 
2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
