Iowa's Internet

Trends show growth
in farmers' computer usage

April 20, 2004

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Farmers are continuing a trend to add more high tech equipment to their farms. While usually it’s a new tractor or bailer, this trend is happening inside the farmhouse – computer use is being added to the daily work of farmers.

Steve Johnson, an extension specialist with Iowa State University, said researchers are seeing far more computer use on farms, specifically use of the Internet, than years past.

According to a study by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, 63 percent of Iowa farmers had computer access in 2003, up 4 percent from 2001. Forty-nine percent of Iowa farmers have Internet access.

Johnson, who has had some experience training farmers on how to use the Internet to their advantage, said e-mail has become the predominant way farmers are using the Web.

“Farmers are seeing the advent of e-mail,” he said. “The family connections are important and is the main reason the Internet is still driven by the use of e-mail. They also use it to access timely information.”

After e-mail, Johnson said farmers follow many different “changing numbers.”

“Usually weather is No. 1, and the market prices,” he said. “They benefit from access to timely farm management agronomy-related information on behalf of Iowa State University. Our extension publications are all online.”

The study showed the 40 percent of Iowa farmers use a computers for farm business, 1 percentage point higher than in Missouri and Nebraska. On average, 48 percent of U.S. farmers use the computer for farm business.

While the trend of computer usage is on an increase, NASS also shows a decrease in farms. The study was based on a reported 92,500 farms in Iowa. In 1997 there were 99,000 farms. But even with the smaller number of farms, they have made the extension office change.

Johnson said the farmer’s use of the Web has made the extension office adapt to become more technologically savvy. “The ISU extension site is updated every day. They want the information we provide quickly,” he said

The Internet, however, is also making it out of the farmhouse and into the grain elevators. Heartland Co-op, in Bondurant, began posting bids on online. Some processors would push daily cash bids to farmers – via e-mail.

But e-mail isn’t just used for bids. The elevators use e-mail to communicate quickly with farmers from the county.

“If they aren’t receiving grain, they’ll e-mail everyone,” Johnson said. “E-mail is moving from general information to really specific information.”

The NASS study also shows a difference in the income class of farms and their ability to own a computer and have Internet access. Farms that net $1,000 to $9,999 in sales and government payments have 61 percent of their farms with computer access and 50 percent with Internet access. Eighty-two percent of Iowa farms taking in $250,000 or more in sales and government sales have computer access, and 72 percent have Internet access.

Compared to the United States as a whole, Iowa farmers are hooked up. Forty-eight percent of U.S. farms have Internet access, up 5 percent from the 2001 study. Farms using computers for their farm business increased from 29 percent in 2001 to 30 percent in 2003.

On average, crop farms have a higher chance of owning a computer and having Internet access than livestock farms.
Johnson said the majority of the sites Central Iowa farmers are using are the extension site and agriculture portals, such as http://www.agweb.com and http://www.agriculture.com.

The study showed that 9 percent of Iowa farmers purchased agricultural inputs over the Internet last year, up from 6 percent in 2001. Agriculture inputs include seed, fertilizer, chemicals, veterinarian supplies, feed, machinery, replacement parts, farm supplies and office equipment. Statistics showed no change in the conduct of agricultural marketing activities over the Web, access to USDA/NASS reports, access to other USDA reports or services online or access to other federal government sites on the Internet.

Of all U.S. farms, 11 percent used the Internet to access federal government Web sites other than USDA, 3 percent conducted business with any USDA Web site and 5 percent conducted business with any other federal government Web site.

But Johnson said local farmers are pulling information from the ISU extension Web site, seed dealers and Co-ops. They are looking for timely information about trucks and the elevator’s availability to take their grain.

But not only are farmers grabbing timely information, they are also looking for weekly news. Nine-hundred farmers in the state provide information to Iowa Agriculture Statistics and that information is sent out once a week.

The e-mails don’t have to have all the information in them, Johnson said. Many cases, it’s e-mails that could provide daily or weekly information that has links to more timely news.

Historically, farmers have been one of the largest groups to easily adapt to the addition of technology to their careers. While they do check the weather often, they also check soil temperatures.

“We keep updated soil temperatures on the ISU extension Web site,” Johnson said. “Secondary to that would be market-related information and as we get into the growing season, a lot of information on weed diseases in the area and insect management will be sought.”