1

Hispanic Farmers 

Up 21 percent since 2007; were 3 percent of U.S. farmers in 2012.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.agcensus.usda.gov

(800)727-9540

ACH12-11/September 2014

Highlights

In 2012, the number of Hispanic farmers in the United States was 99,734. This 

was a 21 percent increase since 2007, when the last agriculture census was 

conducted. Hispanic farmers are primarily in southern and western states. 

Seventy-six 

percent lived 

in six states in 

2012: Texas, 

California, New 

Mexico, Florida, 

Colorado, and 

Washington.

Miami-Dade 

County, Florida, 

had more 

Hispanic farmers 

than any other 

county.

Principal Operators

Of total Hispanic farmers, 67,000 were principal operators, that is, the person 

in charge of the farm’s day-to-day operations. Farms with Hispanic principal

operators 

increased 21 

percent between 

2007 and 2012. 

In contrast, principal operators of 

all farms declined 

4 percent.

(Table 1)

Table 1

Hispanic Farm Operators, 2007 and 2012

2007 2012

%

change

Hispanic farm operators 82,462 99,734 +21%*

Total farm operators 3.3 million 3.2 million -3%

Hispanics as % of total 2.5% 3.1%

Hispanic principal operators 55,570 67,000 +21%*

Total principal operators 2.2 million 2.1 million -4%*

Hispanics as % of total 2.5% 3.2%

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Hispanic Farm Operators, by County, 2012

operators

0

1 - 9

10 - 24

25 - 99

100 - 499

500 - 2,371

U.S. = 99,734

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

67,000 farms . . . 

. . . sold $8.6 billion in 

agricultural products and 

operated 21 million acres 

of farmland.

About the Numbers

This Highlights document includes 

data for operators reporting their 

ethnicity as “Spanish, Hispanic, or 

Latino origin.” Hispanic-origin operators 

can be of any race, but 94 percent 

reported their race as white. For more 

information on Hispanic farmers, see

http://bit.ly/REGprofiles.

*Statistically significant change. See 

http://bit.ly/AgCensusFAQs.
2 USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

percent of farms with a Hispanic principal operators had 

fewer than 180 acres, and 68 percent had sales of less 

than $10,000 in 2012. (Table 3) 

Table 3 

Farms with Hispanic Principal Operator, by Farm Size and Sales, 2012

(percent)

Hispanic-operated Farm All Farms

Farm Size

< 50 acres 58 39

50 to 179 acres 22 30

180 to 999 acres 15 23

1,000 acres or more 5 8

Total 100 100

Farm Sales

< $10,000 68 56

$10,000 to $49,999 17 19

$50,000 to $249,999 9 13

$250,000 to $999,999 4 8

$1,000,000 or more 2 4

Total 100 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Top Commodities

More than one third (36 percent) of farms with a Hispanic 

principal operator specialized in beef cattle in 2012. The 

second largest category was primarily farms with no single 

majority crop, followed by fruits and tree nuts. (Table 4) 

Table 4

Top Farms by Commodity Specializationa, 2012

(Hispanic principal operator)

No. of Farms % of Farms

Beef cattle 24,213 36

Combination cropsb 11,680 17

Fruits and tree nuts 9,477 14

Combination animalsb 7,904 12

Sheep and goats 3,907 6

a

More than half of a farm’s sales come from that commodity.

b

Farms with no single majority commodity and farms specializing in miscellaneous commodities.

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

To learn more about Hispanic farms and farmers, 

the 2012 Census of Agriculture, and how to 

access national, state, and county data, go to:

www.agcensus.usda.gov

The share of farmers of Hispanic origin is higher than the U.S. 

average of 3 percent in nine states: New Mexico (36%), California (12%), Texas (9%), Florida (9%), Colorado (6%), Hawaii 

(5%), Washington (5%), Nevada (4%), and Arizona (4%).

With an average age of 57.1 years in 2012, Hispanic operators were slightly younger than operators overall. They 

had less Internet access than farmers overall, and were 

more likely to work some days in off-farm employment. A 

larger share of Hispanic than total principal operators were 

on their current farm less than ten years. (Table 2)

Table 2 

Hispanic Principal Operators, 2007 and 2012

Hispanic Principal

Operators All Principal

2007 2012 Operators, 2012

(percent)

Age

< 35 years 5 5 6

35 to 64 years 68 65 61

65 years+ 27 30 33

Gender

Male / Female 88 / 12 88 / 12 86 / 14

Primary occupation

Farming / Other 45 / 55 47 / 53 48 / 52

Worked off farm

Yes/No 73 / 27 68 / 32 61 / 39

Years on present farm

0 - 4 12 16 8

5 - 9 20 22 14

10 + 68 62 78

Internet access

Yes / No 44 / 56 61 / 39 70 / 30

Average age (years) 56.0 57.1 58.3

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Farm Size and Sales

Hispanic principal operators sold $8.6 billion in agricultural 

products in 2012, including $5.4 billion in crop sales and 

$3.2 billion in livestock sales. They operated 21.0 million 

acres of farmland. Hispanic sales represented 2.2 percent 

of total U.S. agriculture sales, and Hispanic-operated farmland accounted for 2.3 percent of U.S. farmland.

Farms with Hispanic operators tend to be slightly smaller 

than farms overall, with fewer acres and lower sales. Eighty