Age in the Internet Age: Is the Age of the Farm Operator a Factor in On-Line Business Use?
14 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2012
Date Written: August 15, 2007
Abstract
Farm business Internet access as well as its use has become more prevalent, but use is neither universal nor uniform. Our analysis shows that approximately 56 percent of farms had Internet access in 2004. Sixty-nine percent of sole proprietorship non-farm businesses in the same year had Internet access. Access to the Internet, however, does not necessarily mean the Internet is used as a management tool. In 2005 nearly 30 percent of farms, approximately 600 thousand farms, used the Internet as an integral part of the farm operation. In 2000, 24 percent of farms had used it as a management tool. Through the broader e-government initiative many farm programs and services are available to USDA customers on the Internet. For example, Electronic Loan Deficiency Payments (eLDP) service allows producers to request loan deficiency payments (LDPs) online. Yet, nearly one and half million farms still do not use the Internet as a management tool. The 2002 Farm Bill has a number of provisions aimed at encouraging the use of the Internet in farm and rural non-farm businesses.
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