Internet Technology Aids Farmers
MICHELLE KUNJAPPU than 80 cows on their Fleetwood
Lancaster Fanning Staff operation.
ADAMSTOWN (Lancaster “Once you make the initial in-
Co.) “Farming With Technolo- vestment it is wise to find a trust
gy,” an educational event featur- ed source to be your adviser,” she
ing seminars with computer-re- said. “Having something in your
lated topics, drew more than 40 possession that you don’t know
farm operators, extension agents, how to operate is completely
business consultants, and EPA worthless. Those dollars that you
representatives here to Weaver spend to pay a trusted someone is
Market’s banquet facilities. money well spent,” she said.
Sessions offered topics such as “Spend time and money right
on-line, interactive computer away to learn how to use it.”
training, locating on-line agricul- Also like other farm implc
tural supplies and information, ments, technology equipment
palmtop computers, field record needs regular maintenance, such
software, better record-keeping as a virus scan, and updates to
ideas for dairy operatiops, and allow operators to get more and
making field maps. faster information.
Technology As E-mail and cell phones have
Farm Equipment become essential elements of the
“Technology is just like any
other piece of farm equipment,”
said Phoebe Bitler, Vista Farm.
The Bitler family milks more
vations, and Bonnie Wenger, Wen-Crest Farms, offered
their ideas on locating agricultural supplies and informa
tion in their presentation.
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Bitler operation to gain and share
information, she said. The In
ternet has offered them the abili
ty to look for parts for the tractor
her son was restoring.
They were also able to become
part of a global economic out
reach program where the Bitlers
got feed test results for a mission
ary in Mongolia. The Internet
also allows them to put the pedi
grees and photographs of their
cattle on the Internet. The Bitlers
keep records, pedigrees, and farm
maps on the computer.
She has also has used her com
puter and scanner for 4-H proj
ects or gifts. This equipment can
not, however, replace handmade
presents. “Technology is great
but giving something that’s a
part of yourself is still a mea
sure,” she said.
Information Source
Bonnie Wenger, Wen-Crest
Farms, and her husband Steve
operate a livestock and crop farm
in Schaefferstown. Wenger of
fered her ideas on finding in
formation on the Internet. The
www.Agribiz.com page, for ex
ample, offers markets and analy
sis and a daily update on LDP
rates. Useful farm chemical in
formation is available at
www.greenbook.net. Weather
conditions, news, and market
analysis are found on Ag
web.com.
Farm Service Agency pro
grams and manuals are online at
FSA.usda.gov.
The Wenger family has also
had experience in marketing
freezer beef on the Internet.
Wenger recommends the avenue
for a nonperishable product, as
they found that beef was imprac
tical to package and send long
distances.
Representatives from Internet
marketing company Sharp Inno
vations also shared Internet
ideas. Alex Bargen highlighted
www.joefarmer.com, and
www.agfind.com, www.age
ze.com, and www.agri
surf.com as search engines
■ that will help limit search
results to agricultural
ly-related topics. Alex
recommended formu
lating a question of
what the searcher is
looking for and identi
fying important con
cepts within the ques
tion to limit the
number of results.
“The information is
out there,” he said. “If
somebody doesn’t have
it on today they’ll have
it on tomorrow,” he
said.
Benchmarks
Since technology is
important in gather
ing, synthesizing, and
analyzing information,
Brad HUty, informa-
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mrance
icle,
ig farm
state.
Phoebe Bitter, Vista Grande Farm, Fleetwood, of
fered her insights into farm technology during her pre
sentation. She is standing beside a presentation board
that features photographs and text created on their
farm’s computer.
tion management specialist with
Penn State Dairy Alliance, de
tailed ways of using information
to make operational decisions.
He emphasized the use of
benchmarks, information man
agement, and accurate record
keeping on the farm during his
presentation.
A benchmark, said Hilty, is
“how you are doing as compared
to other business, or last year, or
since you’ve made changes.”
Once benchmarks are estab
lished, a producer can compare
results to industry standards and
use information (i.e., farm re
cords) to make better manage
ment decisions.
“Beware of averages,” he said.
“If you are shooting for average,
you’re setting yourself up to not
be in business in the next ten
years. It puts you in the danger
zone. Look at what the top 15-20
percent are doing, because that’s
where you want to be.”
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Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, December 15,2001-A4l
With tighter management con
trols, farmers will reap profitabil
ity. “If you can measure it, you
can mange it,” he said. “You can
collect all this data, but if you are
not using it to make decisions,
it’s useless. Use it to get a better
idea of how you are performing.”
Accounting systems, production
records, analysis systems, and ad
visors are sources of information.
As examples, Hilty highlighted
the statistics of dairy businesses.
In 1995, averages dairy business
es exhibited an average of 4.5
percent return on assets, while
top herds checked in with an av
erage of 15 percent return on as
sets.
In summary, good benchmarks
require accurate data and accu
rate data requires sound data
management, said Hilty, who en
couraged producers to reconcile
accounts on a monthly basis.
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