Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T06:15:35.408Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Farm Computer Adoption in the Great Plains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Dana L. Hoag
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
James C. Ascough II
Affiliation:
USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colorado
W. Marshall Frasier
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins

Abstract

Computers change rapidly, yet the last survey on computer use in agriculture was in 1991. We surveyed Great Plains producers in 1995 and used logit analysis to characterize adopters and non-adopters. About 37% of these producers use computers which is consistent with the general population. We confirmed previous surveys emphasizing the importance of education, age/experience, and other farm characteristics on adoption. However, we also found that education and experience may no longer be a significant influence. Future research and education could focus on when and where computers are most needed, and therefore when adoption is most appropriate.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amponsah, W.Computer adoption and use of information services by North Carolina commercial farmers.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 27(1995):565576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, G.Characteristics of microcomputer usage and microcomputer success factors.Journal of Farm Mangers and Rural Appraisers 55(1991): 6264.Google Scholar
Baker, G.Computer adoption and use by New Mexico nonfarm agribusinesses.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74(1992): 737744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batte, M., Jones, E., and Schnitkey, G.. “Computer use by Ohio commercial farmers.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 72(1990): 935945.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batte, M. (Editor). Adoption and Use of Farm Information Systems. OARDC Special Circular 149, North Central Regional Research Publication 339, Ohio Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, 1995.Google Scholar
Buttel, F., Larson, O., and Gillespie, G.. The Sociology of Agriculture. The Rural Sociological Society, Contributions in Sociology, Number 88, Greenwood Press, NY, 1990.Google Scholar
Dillman, D.Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method. New York: Wiley-Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, 1978.Google Scholar
Flanagan, W.PC, Come Home.” PC Magazine, December 1995, pp. 136140.Google Scholar
Iddings, K. and Apps, J.. “What influences farmers' computer use? The enthusiasm and frustration computers bring.Journal of Extension 28(1990): 1617.Google Scholar
Jarvis, A.Computer adoption decisions—implications for research and extension: The case of Texas rice producers.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 72(1990): 13881394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knutson, R., Penn, J., and Boehm, W.. Agricultural and Food Policy, third edition, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995.Google Scholar
Lazarus, W.F. and Smith, T.R.. “Adoption of Computers and Consultant Services by New York Dairy Farmers.Journal of Dairy Science 70(1988): 16671675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ortman, G., Patrick, G., and Musser, W.. “Use and rating of computers by large-scale U.S. cornbelt farmers.Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 10(1994):3143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putler, D. and Zilberman, D.. “Computer use in agriculture: evidence from Tulare County, California.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 70(1988):790802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, E.Diffusion of Innovations. McMillan Publishing Company, New York, 1983.Google Scholar
Schmidt, D., Rockwell, S., Bitney, L., and Sarno, E.. “Farmers adopt microcomputers in the 1980s: educational needs surface for the 1990s.” Journal of Extension 32(1994):electronic pages.Google Scholar
Willimack, D.The financial record-keeping practices of U.S. farm operators and their relationship to selected operator characteristics.” Presented paper, AAEA annual meeting, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 1989.Google Scholar
Woodburn, M., Ortman, G., and Levin, D.. “Computer use and factors influencing computer adoption among commercial farmers in Natal Province, South Africa.Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 11(1994): 184194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar