2012 Census of Agriculture

Nationally 30% of all farm operators and 14% of principal operators are women. In Kentucky, there are 31,419 women operators of which 8,200 are principle operators. Farms with women principal operators comprised 876,256 acres and generated $227,699,000 in sales. Of all women principal operators in the state, 87.2% are full owners.

The Census of Agriculture defines a principal operator as “the person primarily responsible for the on-site, day-to-day operation of the farm or ranch business.”

One principal operator is counted per farm. While the Census counts all operators, demographic and other data are only collected for the principal operator plus up to two additional operators. As the Census of Agriculture notes, “this may be fewer than the total operators on some farms.”

To learn more about women farm operators in the 2012 Agriculture Census, go to: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Highligh...

To learn more about women farm operators in the 1978-2007 Agriculture Censuses, go to: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/e...

County Data Sheets

To find your county...click on the file that contains your county name. All counties are listed alphabetically.

To print your county...scroll down to it and print the current page(s) only. 

~ ~ Each Data Sheet is 1 Page Long ~ ~

EACH OF THE FILES CONTAINS 20 COUNTIES.

To view these files, you will need Adobe Acrobat

Adair County through Carlisle County

Carroll County through Garrard County

Grant County through Knott County

Knox County through Martin County

Mason County through Pulaski County

Robertson County through Woodford County

Data Sources

These data are from the 2012 Census of Agriculture and are available from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service at: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov

County-level data on all women operators are available in Table 47.

Table 46 and Table 48 contain data on farm and tenure characteristics for women principal operators.

The number of women principal operators is also included in Table 1 - Summary Highlights.

State-level data Table 56 and Table 57 include additional characteristics of women operators and women principal operators.