More Farmers Using Computers to Operate Farms
Monday, August 21st, 2017 -- 8:03 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -More farmers are using computers to operate their businesses than ever before.The USDA reports that 73 percent of the nation's farmers either own or lease a computer, with nearly all of them using the Internet. About half of those surveyed said they use the computer for farm business purposes. Those numbers are similar to Wisconsin's findings for computer usage. Currently, about 77 percent of all farmers in the state are utilizing a computer. Local producers who use the machines for farm business is around 49 percent.
DSL remains the most common method of access to the Internet, with 39 percent of farms in Wisconsin now having access via DSL. Mobile devices, such as smart phones or tablets, was the second most popular way to connect to the web. The USDA says about 85 percent of U.S. farms with sales and government payments of at least $250,000 have access to a computer. Comparing computer usage by U.S. crop and livestock farms, 52 percent of the crop producers use the computer for farm business compared to 42 percent of the livestock producers.
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