Fewer New Farmers 
Snapshot of U.S. Farmers, 201 2 
In 2012, the number of new farmers who have been on 
their current operation less than ten years was down 20 
percent from 2007. In 2012, nearly 172,000 were on their 
current operation less than five years; this group was down 
23 percent from 2007 (Table 7). Within groups, the propor- 
tion of principal operators who were new farmers varied, 
with Asian principal operators having the largest percent- 
age who had been on their operation less than ten years 
(42 percent). 
Table? 
New Farmers, 2007 and 2012 
(number of principal operators) 
2007 
2012 
% change 
On operation less than 
ten years 
583,286 
469,098 
-19.6* 
On operation less than 
five years 
223,741 
171,550 
-23.3* 
Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture. 
About the Census of Agriculture 
The Census of Agriculture is the leading source of facts 
and figures about American agriculture. USDA’s National 
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts the census 
once every five years, and conducted the 2012 Census of 
Agriculture in early 2013 based on 2012 end-of-year data. 
The 2012 Census results are now available, providing 
information at national, state, and county levels about what 
agricultural products were produced in the United States in 
2012, where, how, and by whom. 
Data are available in multiple formats to help all users, 
professional and casual, find and use exactly what they need. 
Tools include: 
• Quick Stats 2.0 - an online database to retrieve 
customized tables 
• A new tutorial video - easy-to-follow instructions 
for Quick Stats 
• An API for developers - http://quickstats.nass. 
usda.gov/tutorials 
• Desktop Data Query Tool - a downloadable desk 
top tool to analyze data without Internet access 
• Agricultural Atlas - pattern and dot maps profiling 
many aspects of agriculture at the county level 
• Infographics - fun, informative snippets of 
Census data and context 
• Highlights - more documents like this one 
summarizing key facts on a topic 
A link to census data is also available on USDA’s open data 
portal, www.usda.gov/data. 
www.agcensus.usda.gov 
The majority of the nation’s 2.1 million farms are small 
in terms of sales; 75 percent sold less than $50,000 in 
agricultural products in 2012 and 57 percent had sales less 
than $10,000. The farm is the place of residence for three 
fourths of principal operators, but it does not provide the 
majority of their household income. For 1.5 million farm 
households, less than 25 percent of household income 
came from their farm. In 2012, 61 percent worked off the 
farm at least some days, and 40 percent worked off the 
farm for 200 or more days. 
Selected Characteristics of Principal Operators 
2012 
(number) 
% of Principal 
Operators 
% change 
since 2007 
Agriculture sales under $50,000 
1,591,804 
75.5 
-7.6* 
Agriculture sales under $10,000 
1,193,977 
56.6 
-9.5* 
Lived on their farm 
1,621,591 
76.9 
-4.2* 
Less than 25% of household 
income came from farming 
1,483,837 
70.3 
-6.3* 
Had Internet access 
1,468,106 
69.6 
+17.8* 
Worked some days off the farm 
1,285,644 
61.0 
-6.2* 
Had a primary occupation other 
than farming 
1,101,399 
52.2 
-9.9* 
Had positive net cash income for 
the operation 
972,445 
46.1 
-6.2* 
Farms with Principal Operator whose Primary Occupation Is Not 
Farming, by County, 2012 
U.S. = 52.2% 
H 
□ 
□ 
□ 
percent 
<35 
35-44 
45-49 
50-54 
55-64 
65 + 
4 
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 
