HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen-Agriculture 2000, 2000-03-15, Page 27THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2000. PAGE A-3.
Ag businesses find benefits in going on-line
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
As technology infiltrates every
aspect of modern life, farmers and
farm businesses are going on-line
and hi-tech to keep up-to-date.
At the farm level, operators are
using computer programs to keep
business records for livestock and
crops, mapping out business plans
for expansion and tracking herd
health.
Direct-to-home satellite systems
provide farmers with current com
modity prices from a variety of mar
kets along with weather information.
Weather and market information is
very important when deciding what
to plant in the spring, says Wayne
Hamilton of the Varna area.
By watching weather patterns
moving in, Hamilton says he is bet
ter able to determine when to plant
and spray chemicals.
Hamilton prefers the.direct satel
lite feeds as the material is available
24 hours a day
rather than waiting
for the local news
report on televi
sion.
While he appre
ciates the satellite
service, Hamilton
says it is the internet which gives
him an international look at markets.
On-line for about three years,
Hamilton says he uses the two sys
tems to cross-reference information
received.
The abundance of knowledge
available allows farmers to be better
marketers, he adds.
“I may not do things on certain
days now. Before, I went on emo
tion, now decisions are based on
fact.”
Hamilton also likes the immediacy
of the internet, giving him the most
timely material with morning sum
maries of all the agricultural stories
both political and product-related.
The internet allows agriculturalists
to obtain data on new product lines
hitting the market.
Steve Johns of the Vanaslra area
also says the internet is very good for
product information but cautions
users to realize the source of that
information. Much of the material is
‘Decisions
now based
on fact’
posted by the manufacturer and may
not carry all the pertinent data.
In spite of his affinity for the use
fulness of technology, Hamilton
says, “I don’t think any technology
or internet is a substitute for person-
to-person contact. We have gone
through cutbacks (in agricultural
support services) and OMAFRA is
telling us we can access the informa
tion through the internet. I don’t
believe we can. The internet will not
replace face-to-face interaction.”
Hamilton says the internet may
provide background information,
but there needs to be a person to
answer questions that arise.
“OMAFRA gives us those un-biased
answers.”
Hamilton notes that finding what
is sought through the internet can be
a time-consuming venture. “You
need very good time-management.
But how much time do you allocate
to looking? In the summer there is
less time for screening.”
This is a role OMAFRA afso
filled, says
Hamilton. “They
would compile a
variety of informa
tion into one
source.”
Johns agrees that
farmers will miss
the interaction with OMAFRA per
sonnel. “They are a valuable second
opinion.”
With the move to more on-line
services, many rural organizations
stress the point that not all farmers
are or could be on-line due to the
existence of party lines.
An older farm population may also
contribute to lower percentages of
involvement.
Hamilton believes there is still
less than half of all farmers using the
internet, but those who are on-line
are making use of fax and e-mail
connections.
From the business perspective,
almost any agriculture-related prod
uct can be found on-line from tracfor
parts to feed or chemical sprays.
Companies report better commu
nication with suppliers and other
dealers in locating requested prod
ucts as well as making smaller local
businesses known to a wider com
munity
For Gary Dauphin of Dauphin
Feed and Supply Ltd. in Walton and
Dungannon, his company uses the
internet extensively for the acquisi
tion of information.“Our brokers in
Chicago send us market info. Our
use is mostly incoming.”
Though Dauphin in not yet on
line, it is in the works, he says. “We
have to consider the value to us, how
much time it will take to maintain
and we cannot let the site go stag-
nant.”
For most sectors, it appears tech
nology can be a valuable tool, how
ever, users are weighing the time
consumed against the benefits
achieved.
Falls are an important cause of
hospitalized injury on Canadian
farms. Falls accounted for 33 per
cent of non-machinery-related hos
pitalizations.
Animals are an important cause
of non-machinery hospitalized
injury on Canadian farms.
Almost one-third of non-machinery
related hospitalized injuries that
occurred on Canadian farms
involved animals. Four out of five
of these injuries were caused by
being crushed or struck by the ani
mal (most commonly cows).
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