Computer use on the farm and ranch is growing, but still has some room to increase.

Nevil Speer

August 24, 2017

2 Min Read
Are you a digitally connected rancher?

USDA recently updated its relatively new biennial survey: Farm Computer Usage and Ownership. This is an important report; internet access and computer usage is rapidly evolving in rural America. For example, this year’s report added two new categories for internet access: fiber-optic cable, now serving 8% of all U.S. farms, and mobile internet service. 

The report includes several key findings. Overall, 73% of farms have computer access. Meanwhile, nearly half (47%) of farm owners report using a computer for farm business. To that end, another new question was added for the 2017 survey: use of tablet and/or smart phone for farm business. A whopping 39% of farmers/ranchers are now using one or the other for business! 

Meanwhile, there are some key differences among farming operations and how they’re using the internet for business—especially when considering categorization by annual farm revenue. The illustration highlights differences among farmers/ranchers regarding their propensity to actually conduct business online—i.e. using the internet to purchase inputs or facilitate marketing of products. Several key trends are readily evident.

 August-2017-computer-use.png

First, larger farms are more likely to use the internet to conduct business. For example, operations generating $250,000 or more were 2.6 times more likely than the smallest farms (39% vs 15%, respectively) to purchase inputs and 4.2 times more likely to use the internet for marketing purposes (38% vs 9%, respectively). Second, whatever the category, there exists a steady increase in computer usage over the past four years, versus the 2013 baseline. 

Related:Can ransomware affect your farm office computer? Yes

How does your operation stack up against these survey results? Where do you see these trends headed in the next five to 10 years? What changes will we see around agriculture as the digital age becomes increasingly prevalent in rural America? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Nevil Speer is based in Bowling Green, Ky., and serves as vice president of U.S. operations for AgriClear, Inc. – a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group Limited. The views and opinions of the author expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the TMX Group Limited and Natural Gas Exchange Inc.

About the Author(s)

Nevil Speer

Nevil Speer serves as an industry consultant and is based in Bowling Green, KY.

Nevil Speer has extensive experience and involvement with the livestock and food industry including various service and consultation projects spanning such issues as market competition, business and economic implications of agroterrorism, animal identification, assessment of price risk and market volatility on the producer segment, and usage of antibiotics in animal agriculture.
 
Dr. Speer writes about many aspects regarding agriculture and the food industry with regular contribution to BEEF and Feedstuffs.  He’s also written several influential industry white papers dealing with issues such as changing business dynamics in the beef complex, producer decision-making, and country-of-origin labeling.
 
He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Institute for Animal Agriculture.
 
Dr. Speer holds both a PhD in Animal Science and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.

Contact him at [email protected].

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