1

American Indian Farmers 

Two thirds specialized in livestock production.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.agcensus.usda.gov

(800)727-9540

ACH12-8/September 2014

Highlights

In 2012, the number of American Indian farmers in the United States was 

58,475. This was a 5 percent increase since 2007, when the last agriculture 

census was conducted. Eighty percent lived in seven states in 2012: Arizona, 

Oklahoma, 

New Mexico, 

Texas, Montana, 

California, and 

South Dakota. 

Apache County, 

Arizona, had 

more American 

Indian farmers 

than any other 

county.

Principal Operators

Of total American Indian farmers, 37,851 were principal operators, that is, the 

person in charge of the farm’s day-to-day operations. Farms with American 

Indian principal 

operators 

increased 

9 percent 

between 2007 

and 2012. In 

contrast, principal 

operators of all 

farms declined 

4 percent. 

(Table 1)

Table 1

American Indian Farm Operators, 2007 and 2012

2007 2012

%

change

American Indian farm operators 55,889 58,475 +5%

Total farm operators 3.3 million 3.2 million -3%

American Indians as % of total 1.7% 1.8%

American Indian principal operators 34,706 37,851 +9%

Total principal operators 2.2 million 2.1 million -4%*

American Indians as % of total 1.6% 1.8%

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

American Indian Farm Operators, by County, 2012

operators

0

1 - 9

10 - 24

25 - 99

100 - 249

250 - 8,713

U.S. = 58,475

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

37,851 farms . . . 

. . . sold $1.8 billion in 

agricultural products and 

operated 51 million acres of 

farmland.

About the Numbers

This Highlights document includes data 

for operators reporting their race only 

as “American Indian or Alaska Native.” 

An additional 13,472 respondents 

to the 2012 Census of Agriculture 

indicated they are “American Indian 

or Alaska Native” in addition to one or 

more other races. For more information 

on American Indian farmers, see 

http://bit.ly/REGprofiles.

*Statistically significant change. See 

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

Seventy-seven percent of farms with an American Indian 

principal operator had fewer than 180 acres, and 78 percent had sales of less than $10,000 in 2012. (Table 3)

Table 3 

Farms with American Indian Principal Operator, by Farm Size and Sales, 2012

(percent)

Am. Ind.- operated Farms All Farms

Farm Size

< 50 acres 57 39

50 to 179 acres 20 30

180 to 999 acres 15 23

1,000 acres or more 8 8

Total 100 100

Farm Sales

< $10,000 78 56

$10,000 to $49,999 14 19

$50,000 to $249,999 5 13

$250,000 to $999,999 2 8

$1,000,000 or more 1 4

Total 100 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Top Commodities

More than two thirds of American Indian-operated farms 

specialized in livestock production in 2012 (compared with 

50 percent of all farms), including beef, sheep and goat, 

and combination livestock farming. (Table 4)

Table 4

Top Farms by Commodity Specializationa, 2012

(American Indian principal operator)

No. of Farms % of Farms

Beef cattle 13,712 36

Combination animalsb 6,443 17

Sheep and goats 5,926 16

Combination cropsb 5,752 15

Vegetables 2,087 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 American Indian farms and 

farmers, the 2012 Census of Agriculture, and how 

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

www.agcensus.usda.gov

The percent of operators who are of American Indian origin is 

higher than the national average of 2 percent in eight states: 

Arizona (56%), New Mexico (20%), Oklahoma (10%), Nevada 

(7%), Alaska (4%), Montana (4%) , Utah (3%), and South 

Dakota (3%). 

American Indian principal operators had less Internet 

access in 2012 than principal operators of all farms (46 

percent compared with 70 percent for principal operators 

overall). They are more likely to be female than operators 

overall. (Table 2)

Table 2 

American Indian Principal Operators, 2007 and 2012

American Indian All Principal

2007 2012 Operators, 2012

(percent)

Age

< 35 years 6 6 6

35 to 64 years 64 61 61

65 years+ 30 33 33

Gender

Male / Female 71 / 29 70 / 30 86 / 14

Primary occupation

Farming / Other 51 / 49 55 / 45 48 / 52

Worked off farm

Yes/No 63 / 37 63 / 37 61 / 39

Years on present farm

0 - 4 11 8 8

5 - 9 17 14 14

10 + 72 78 78

Internet access

Yes / No 42 / 58 46 / 54 70 / 30

Average age (years) 56.6 58.1 58.3

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Farm Size and Sales

American Indian principal operators sold $1.8 billion of 

agricultural products in 2012, including $693 million in crop 

sales and $1.1 billion in livestock sales. They operated 50.9 

million acres of farmland. American Indian sales represented 0.5 percent of total U.S. agriculture sales, and American 

Indians operated 5.6 percent of U.S. farmland. 

Farms with American Indian operators tend to be smaller 

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