Nine out of 10 farmers use their smartphones to check the weather, according to an IFA survey.
The report on farmer use of technology revealed that farmers are slow to take up technology in some areas, but keen to check weather, news and livestock prices.
Digital Agriculture: Adoption and Attitudes was completed in consultation by Amárach Research with over 750 individual farmers, focus groups and key industry stakeholders.
The survey challenged the stereotypical view of farmers and technology, showing that 75% of farmers over 55 used smartphones.
“While many farmers are exploiting new technologies to their full advantage, barriers do exist for the sector as whole, which must be overcome. Access to broadband is one of the major barriers experienced by farmers. The speedy implementation of the National Broadband Plan (the contract for which was signed by Government on November 19th) is critical for rural Ireland," IFA president Joe Healy said.
Only 9% of farmers surveyed said they doubted they would ever invest in farm technology.
Key findings included:
Nearly half (49%) of farmers surveyed said they feel confident in using technology in general – half do not.84% of all farmers use a smartphone.Presently dairy farmers seem to be most engaged, and if not using technology are most likely to adopt it.Six out of 10 include access to support and training in their top three barriers, after the critical matters of internet availability and making the investment.Overall, dairy farmers appeared to lead the charge on the use of technology on farms. Some 86% of dairy farmers surveyed said they used technology to register calves, while 53% said they used a camera monitoring system in their sheds.
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Nine out of 10 farmers use their smartphones to check the weather, according to an IFA survey.
The report on farmer use of technology revealed that farmers are slow to take up technology in some areas, but keen to check weather, news and livestock prices.
Digital Agriculture: Adoption and Attitudes was completed in consultation by Amárach Research with over 750 individual farmers, focus groups and key industry stakeholders.
The survey challenged the stereotypical view of farmers and technology, showing that 75% of farmers over 55 used smartphones.
“While many farmers are exploiting new technologies to their full advantage, barriers do exist for the sector as whole, which must be overcome. Access to broadband is one of the major barriers experienced by farmers. The speedy implementation of the National Broadband Plan (the contract for which was signed by Government on November 19th) is critical for rural Ireland," IFA president Joe Healy said.
Only 9% of farmers surveyed said they doubted they would ever invest in farm technology.
Key findings included:
Nearly half (49%) of farmers surveyed said they feel confident in using technology in general – half do not.84% of all farmers use a smartphone.Presently dairy farmers seem to be most engaged, and if not using technology are most likely to adopt it.Six out of 10 include access to support and training in their top three barriers, after the critical matters of internet availability and making the investment.Overall, dairy farmers appeared to lead the charge on the use of technology on farms. Some 86% of dairy farmers surveyed said they used technology to register calves, while 53% said they used a camera monitoring system in their sheds.
Read more
Dairy Day: co-ops planning for more milk
Strong northern demand for milking robots
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