One Reason To Improve Your Company’s Website, More Farmers Are Online

About 59% of U.S. farms now have Internet access, compared with 57% in 2007. According to new numbers made available by the USDA, DSL was the most common method of accessing the Internet, with 36% of U.S. farms using it, up from 27% in 2007, USAgNet reports.

In 2007, dialup was the most common method of accessing the net. Dialup access dropped from 47% in 2007 to 23% in 2009. Satellite and wireless were each reported as the primary internet access methods on 13% of those U.S. farms with Internet access. Cable was reported as the primary access method on 11% of the farms.

The report noted that 64% of farms have access to a computer in 2009, the same level as 2007. The proportion of U.S. farms owning or leasing a computer in 2009, at 61%, was up by 1% from 2007. Farms using computers for their farm business increased 1% from 2007 to 36% in 2009.

In 2009, 81% of U.S. farms with sales and government payments of $250,000 or more have access to a computer, 79% own or lease a computer, 69% are using a computer for their farm business, and 76% have Internet access.

For farms with sales and government payments between $100,000 and $249,999, the figures are: 70% have access to a computer, 67% own or lease a computer, 52% are using a computer for their farm business, and 63% have Internet access. Of the farms with sales and government payments between $10,000 and $99,999, 62% reported having computer access, 59% own or lease a computer, 38% use a computer for their farm business, and 57% have Internet access.

For crop farms, 65% have computer access and 40% use a computer for their farm business in 2009, up 1% and 3% from 2007, respectively. Internet access for crop farms has increased to 60% in 2009, compared with 56% in 2007. In 2009, a total of 63% livestock farms have computer access and 58% have Internet access.