It’s no surprise that producers are steadily adopting new technologies on the farm, like GPS systems, yield monitors and other helpful tools, but where does a basic computer fit in?

According the USDA’s latest estimate of farm computer usage and ownership, released Monday, 70 percent of U.S. farms have access to a computer in 2013, up 5 percentage points from 2011, though only 40 percent report using the computer for their farm business. That’s compared to 37 percent in 2011.

Right up there with computer access tallies, 67 percent of farms in the United States now have Internet access, compared with 62 percent in 2011.

DSL was the most common method of accessing the Internet, with 35 percent of the farms in the United States using it, compared to 38 percent in 2011. Wireless was the second most common method of Internet access at 24 percent in 2013, up from 20 percent in 2011.

Survey reports nearly three-quarters of farms with top sales using a computer for farm business.

Dial-up access dropped from 12 percent in 2011 to 5 percent in 2013, and cable and satellite access were each reported as the primary Internet access method on 13 and 17 percent of farms in the United States, respectively.

The region representing the strongest access to Internet was the West; the lowest percentage was the South.

Size of farms

When compared to economic class, computer use rises with sales and government payments, in general.

Leading the way are farms with sales and government payments of $250,000 or more, which report 84 percent have access to a computer, 83 percent own or lease a computer, 72 percent are using a computer for their farm business, and 82 percent have Internet access.

Of the farms with sales and government payments between $100,000 and $249,999, 73 percent have access to a computer, 71 percent own or lease a computer, 56 percent are using a computer for their farm business and 69 percent have Internet access.

The farms with sales and government payments between $10,000 and $99,999, 68 percent reported having computer access, 66 percent own or lease a computer, 45 percent use a computer for their farm business, and 65 percent have Internet access.

Type of farm

For crop farms, 71 percent have computer access and 45 percent use a computer for their farm business in 2013, both up 4 percentage points from 2011. Internet access for crop farms has increased to 68 percent in 2013, compared with 64 percent in 2011.

In 2013, a total of 70 percent of livestock farms have computer access and 66 percent have Internet access. Among dairy, beef, cotton and grain and oilseed operations, dairy farms have the lowest computer and Internet access rates.

The 2013 computer usage estimates are based on responses from more than 26,960 agricultural operations and represent all sizes and types of farms.

Taken from an article published in Farm Progress.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.