Farming the Net to get an edge

Net surfing isn't for nerds anymore-from Christmas shopping to communicating with relatives, the digital revolution has brought e-mail, the Internet, and online information into a majority of our homes and businesses. Agriculture has been ahead of the curve on many fronts, as farmers and agribusinesses learn how to turn technology to their advantage.

The latest in farming methods, market reports, weather forecasts, information exchange, and buying and selling of grain and livestock are some of the ways agriculture is putting the Internet to work. Agribusinesses are eager to learn how they can use the Internet to market their products directly to farmers. Farmers are finding ways to improve their bottom line by using the Internet and other technologies to gain immediate access to markets.

One farmer who has had his ear to the ground about technology for quite some time is Grant Mangold of Linn Grove, who since 1993 has published @gInnovator in print form and now online in cooperation with Successful Farming Online. And technology isn't all about "bells and whistles"-profitability and sustainability are important factors in the use of technology.

As Mangold aptly writes in his online welcome, "[Technology] is about moving from precision farming to 'appropriate agriculture.' Many farmers will accomplish this with new tools and technologies, new farming strategies, and enterprising structures. But for all who will survive and prosper, it will involve making the right decisions at the right time."

Several studies indicate that adoption of digital technologies may depend to some degree on the type and size of farming operation; they also show that adoption of these technologies is increasing at a good clip. A brief review of several studies of agriculture's use of technology shows some interesting consistencies and contrasts.

Computer ownership, use

For some time, surveys have shown farmers to be slightly ahead of the adoption curve with computer ownership. A study done in late 1997 by ISU's Eric Abbott and Allan Schmidt showed that more than 45 percent of Iowa farmers owned a computer, compared to 41 percent for all U.S. households during the same time period.

More recent surveys indicate that the proportion of farmers owning a computer has grown significantly in the past two years. A March, 1998 study conducted by the Gallup Organization on behalf of the Agricultural Publishers Association (APA), and a late 1997 study done by ISU's Mike Duffy for the Iowa Farm Business Association (IFBA), showed that 57 percent and 55 percent of farmers owned computers, respectively.

Internet: Marketing, messages

Purchasing fertilizer, pesticides, and seed over the Internet is still in its infancy. The APA survey showed only 2 percent of large producers purchase farming products or services via the Net. A recent article in Successful Farming Online () indicates that many producers are reluctant to by-pass their local sources for inputs that require technical information, or in cases where the savings are small and the importance of supporting local suppliers is valued.

Marketing of livestock and grain also is edging its way onto the Net. In a recent online feature, Successful Farming's Dan Looker highlighted new agricultural commerce ventures as well, including live cattle auctions and the development of grain contracting over the World Wide Web. One innovator mentioned is the Ames-based E-Markets, which envisions new ways of buying and selling agricultural and food products. From farm to table, the firm has already gained recognition for development of Internet applications and services for grain, seed, feed, animal, and food products industries.

The APA survey of large producers shows a marked optimism for the potential of Internet-based information services. While only 21 percent of those surveyed were currently using such sources in March 1998, 59 percent thought they would be using the Internet for information services in three years.

GIS: Different strokes

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is another area where the size of operation seems to have some correlation to use of technology. The agricultural publishers' poll concentrated on large operations, while the farm business study focused primarily on commercial, family-sized farms (66 percent of the respondents had sales between $100,000 and $500,000).

While the farm business data showed only 8 percent of producers using GIS variable rate application, the publishers poll showed that 37 percent of those respondents used the technology. In both surveys, the proportion of respondents using a GIS yield monitor on their combine was 11 percent.

The Leopold Center is currently funding a research project coordinated by ISU ag and biosystems engineer William Batchelor comparing various crop management systems, including GIS, in an effort to help participating farmers develop the best tools for their operations. Their goal is to find where GIS can help make farmers most profitable; and where other strategies may be more appropriate.

Satellite-based services

An interesting contrast emerges when comparing the rates of adoption for satellite information services such as DTN/FarmDayta. Several studies done between July 1997 and March 1998, found about 17 percent of farmers using such satellite-based services. In the APA study, less than 20 percent of the large producers used electronic information resources such as DTN/FarmDayta.

In contrast, the study done by ISU's Abbott and Schmidt showed nearly a quarter of farmers using DTN; the study of Iowa producers done for the IFBA showed 43 percent of the respondents using this technology. Whether this difference applies to the sizes of farming operations included in the samples or other factors is unclear. Regional availability of satellite services or even Internet access may also be factors in the adoption rate.

Abbott and Schmidt suggest that one factor in heavy adoption of the satellite technologies has been the lack of rural online access to the kinds of information provided by such services (markets, weather, outlooks, etc.). They further suggest that early adoption of the satellite-based sources for this information may impact the ability of Internet-based information sources to penetrate the market.

Pipe dream or panacea?

So what opportunities or problems do technological advances hold for agriculture? One challenge will be the uneven nature of adoption. Write Abbott and Schmidt, "In the short term...messages will continue to be sent in traditional as well as new forms."

In the realm of enhancing profitability for farmers, technologies that can minimize the middlemen in agricultural transactions may show promise, depending on whether these venues offer enough safeguards and advantages to the producer. In the end, the philosophy espoused by Mangold is probably closest to the mark: farming with better information should result in an approriate mix of technology, management, and resources to sustain agriculture today and in the decades to come.

Studies cited in this article:

"Trends in Agriculture Study: Large Producer Scorecards," April, 1998, Agricultural Publishers Association. For details visit the web site at http://www.agpub.org.

Eric Abbott and Allan Schmidt, "Beyond Blue Sky Predictions: What the Emerging Facts Really Say about New Information Technologies and Rural Development," 1998, research presented to Agricultural Communicators in Education, Asilomar, California.

To visit other online information sources about agriculture, see the Leopold Center's web page for "Other links of interest."