ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Before buying a computer for
your farm operation, the panelists
had this advice: Consult those in
the know.
“1 suggest you deal with some
one that understands ag software.
You should try and purchase a
turnkey system, which includes
the hardware and software in the
package,” said Nevin Dourte, from
Jacob H. Ruhl, Inc. insurance com
pany. Dourte spoke on a panel,
“Lessons I Have Learned,” during
the Agriculture Computing Con
ference last week at the Farm and
Home Center.
Dourte was one of three panel
ists who agreed that, while it may
be difficult at times finding the
exact computer software for the
right farm application, analyzing
your needs, consulting the special
ists, and becoming more know
ledgeable about software products
are keys to Ending the right com
puter for the right application.
About seven computer exhibi
tors from the area were on hand to
answer questions and display the
latest computer and hardware pro
ducts for the potential farm user at
the conference, conducted by the
Penn State extension. Farm com
puter experts spoke about new
developments in hardware, envir
onmental monitoring, expert sys
tems, and telecommunications
and how they are used on the farm.
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Computers: What Can They Do For Farming?
Nothing for sure
“Nothing is for sure anymore,”
said Dourte. “Software companies
you look at may lode totally solid
now, but 6 or 12 months down the
line they may not be around. If
somebody goes out of business,
there is a chance somebody may
but the company and keep it going.
But you can’t be sure."
Dourte and the other panelists
agreed that knowing the right spe
cialists and getting an accountant’s
professional help before purchas
ing a computer are important.
“I rely on people specializing in
certain areas,” said Roger Garber,
who operates a Mt. Joy farm with
his father and brother. Together
they farm about 1,000 acres and
raise poultry, livestock, and crops.
He uses an IBM-compatible
computer.
Garber said, “There are certain
people specialized in a certain area
that you find, people who know a
certain area and you tie into
them for their knowledge.”
Value of computers
Garber’s “school of hard
knocks” experience has taught him
the value of using computers on his
farm. Certain accounting software
elements, such as references,
enterprising, check writing, and
other accounting procedures are
important to him.
“My advice is to sit down with
your accountant and determine
what you need before you buy a
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computer,” Garber said.
Ed Zug, a Reach Bottom dairy
farmer, purchased his Apple He in
1983. He manages SO Holsteins on
his 150 acres of cropland, keeps
careful crop and profit and loss
statements on a monthly basis, and
tax records on his computer.
After purchasing his computer,
Zug took a class in using the com
puter, and gives his advice for the
potential computer buyer “Find
what you want and try to find the
software that allows you to do that.
And come to meetings like this to
End out about computer software
and hardware for farming.”
Look for software
But the first thing to do is look
first for the software that will work
best for you, and then select the
hardware accordingly, according
to Zug.
Dourte, who purchased a “true
blue” IBM, agrees. “The best and
easiest way is to End a program
that will meet your needs on the
farm and operate it. Jump right in,
but get what you need up front,” he
said.
But Dourte cautions that if you
leant the program too fast, it may
not be the right one for you. And
custom-written software “is not
the way to go it’s more expen
sive than a canned program.”
You must examine whether the
program, in the end, will save you
time. Ilie computer may not
necessarily make you more
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money, but the “increased accura
cy and the detail out” is what
brings most farmers who use com
puters “back week after week for
more,” Dourte said.
Gospel of computing
‘Time is money,” said Garber.
“But the gospel of computing is to
back up your hard drive.” If you
“Computer programs are becoming more user-friendly
than 4 or 8 years ago,” said Pat Richie, multi-county ag engi
neer, at the Ag Computing Conference.
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Uncut* Farming Saturday, March 17,1990425
don’t back up the hard drive
(which stores most of the software
and data on a computer), “you
could lose data,” he said.
But the panelists who spend
time learning on a certain machine
purchased the same machine
because it was what they were
“used to.” All said they would
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