Sector slow to milk benefits

By LIAM DANN primary industries editor

The e-farming theme at Fieldays this year may have raised awareness of IT on the farm but a new survey shows farmers aren't making the most of computers to boost profitability.

Associate Professor Stuart Locke of Waikato University's management school polled 1000 farmers at Fieldays.

The results show that 75 per cent of farmers have access to computers but just 56 per cent are using them for business.

The use of the internet as a business tool is extremely low, Locke said.



Where computers were being used for business, it was for areas such as stock records or accounting.

Locke, who runs a Cambridge stud, believes the big challenge facing the industry is to lift internet use to gain productivity and "do things smarter".

There was a fairly high level of internet linkage, he said.

"People have access to the internet but they're not using it for anything business-oriented."

Access is almost entirely by dial-up.

Despite the efforts of Fonterra and Telecom to develop high-speed broadband packages for farmers, Locke is not convinced that fast connections are the answer.

People who argue that broadband is needed to get farmers on the net are putting up an artificial barrier, he said.

"If you've never seen high speed, you tolerate low speed until you've seen something better."

Education about the possibility of the net was more important at this stage, he said.

"There are lots of services where you can just correspond by email or order things online and get an email response. You do not need high speed for those things."

The potential was there for many farmers to make big savings on everyday activities.

Going into town for banking was a waste of time when the internet was available.



"My stock and station agent, when they purchase stuff for me, send me an invoice. At the bottom it gives an account number so I just transfer the money. I don't write a cheque any more. It's cheaper.

"When they sell stuff for me, the money is credited direct to my account. My power company emails me the bill."

Other practical uses included up-to-date weather information, latest stock prices and information on new fertilisers and other products.



Suppliers email catalogues rather than going directly online - which can be slow for the pages to come up, he said.

The survey found farmers were divided into three categories. The largest group (about 50 per cent) indicated they wanted to expand internet use slowly and with caution.

About a third of farmers wanted to significantly increase their internet use in the next few years and a smaller group - about 15 per cent - weren't interested in it at all.

"I don't think we're into revolution here, we're into evolution," Locke said.

Telecom and Fonterra have a partnership in place aimed at providing dairy farmers with a custom-built broadband package. Dubbed Fonterra.net, it is still at the trial stage but should be ready to go within a year.

Earlier research showed that dairy farmers were more likely to be using the internet than other farmers, said Telecom rural segment manager Sam Irvine.

That was because of the regular contact they needed with dairy companies over issues such as milk quality and price.

A Ministry of Economic Development survey found that 63 per cent of dairy farmers were using the internet for business.

The Fonterra.net project, which gets rebranded in a few weeks, was about enabling the Fonterra community to have access to real time information from Fonterra and organisations such as Livestock Improvements, he said.

Trials around the country have highlighted other benefits for farmers in areas such as education and banking, he said.

Once it was in place the challenge for Telecom was to find similar applications for other farmers.

Applying similar solutions to the livestock sector shouldn't be too difficult, Irvine said.

Locke was optimistic about the future of e-farming.

"Farmers are not backward. They adopt technology where appropriate," he said. "They move to different drenches when better stuff comes online. They are up with the play all the time."

Wired farmers

Using computers on the farm: 75 per cent.

Using them for business: 56 per cent.

Connected to the net (of those who have computers): 45 per cent.

Dialup modem: 90 per cent.

Broadband land line: 5 per cent.

Broadband wireless: 4 per cent .

Source: Waikato University Fieldays survey.