Using Computers in Farm Management Education

Extension specialists can aid in educational efforts to improve profitability and monitor new technology in today's agricultural climate. The computer is also available to help producers deal with the burgeoning requirements of the information age. How can these resources be combined to help Extension educators assist farmers? A survey of Nebraska farmers and lenders provides an answer to this question.

The objective of the research was to determine: (1) What computer hardware and software do Nebraska farmers have? (2) Why do they have it? (3) How do they like it? and (4) How can Extension specialists help to improve their decision making using this information?

Participants were identified by asking county agents and specialists for the names of farmers and agricultural lenders who used computers and from the members of the Nebraska Computer Users Group. A mail survey was distributed in the summer of 1988 to 289 farmers and 29 lenders. Surveys were returned from 132 of those surveyed, a response rate of 42%.

The type of computer most commonly used was the IBM and compatibles, owned by 87% of the respondents. Sixty percent purchased a hard disk drive with their computer. Dot matrix was by far the most popular printer type.

Sixty-nine percent were highly satisfied with the hardware they'd bought. Statistical comparisons showed that the type of computer wasn't related to level of satisfaction, but having a hard disk drive was.1

Eighty-nine percent of the survey respondents had purchased an accounting software package. No single software dominated. The respondents indicated the most important features of the accounting software were single versus double entry, the number and type of reports, ease of entry, and the ability to enter production information.

The respondents used a number of different resources for help in setting up their accounting system. The help was rated as adequate by 86% of the respondents; 14% thought the help they received was inadequate. Even with this high approval rating, 60% of the farmers felt they weren't getting as much as they could from their accounting system's output. This indicates a need for further education in accounting and financial management, and perhaps some instruction in using accounting software. Seventy-two percent of the respondents were interested in having a group analysis to compare their data to, and 51% indicated that they'd be willing to pay a fee for the group analysis.

Further investigation tested the relationship between the source of help in setting up the accounting system and whether the help was adequate. Of the people receiving help from the Extension Service, 91% felt the help was adequate (Table 1).

Several implications emerge for the farm management Extension education effort. The fact that 60% of respondents indicated they weren't getting as much as they could from their accounting system indicates a need for further education in accounting and financial management. Generalized instruction in how to use accounting software may be needed as well.

Respondents also expressed a desire for Extension workshops on the basics of using electronic spreadsheets and the computer operating system, along with the more traditional topics of accounting, financial management, and production records. These findings demonstrate how Extension specialists can successfully fill a potential need in helping producers use computers to enhance their knowledge and management skills.

1. A categorical dependent two-way contingency table was run on SAS with a chi-square of 7.441, df=18 and chi-square of 10.865, df=6, respectively.