Computers on the Farm
Ricardo J Salvador
in the adoption of computers. I'm not certain that my comment applies to
farm-use per se, but it is a fact that in academia the general level
of expertise and vision in terms of computerization is dismal. Whereas
among engineers and journalists, for instance, one can discuss issues
of electronic mail, software, networks, etc. as easily as discussing
the weather, the amount of time that one must first expend _explaining_
the subject before proceeding to discuss among agriculturalists is
discouraging. At a recent conference of the Amer. Soc. of Agronomy,
one of the hot topics was that someone divulged that something like
the Internet _exists_, and the possibilities for electronic communications
boggled the mind of _most_ participants. However, when we started
discussing the mechanics, most people became bogged down with the
concept of terminal software, and thereupon lost interest.
a) is it fair to believe that this is the case in general among
aggies?
b) if so, is it of any consequence?
c) if so, why?
d) what can be done?
-Ricardo
Jason L. Asbahr
(Ricardo J Salvador) writes:
[discussion of lack of expertise]
a) is it fair to believe that this is the case in general among
aggies?
Well...probably, but if so, it's not just among farmers. Anyone past the
age of 30 who hasn't made friends with a computer yet is going to respond
as you described. (If they have made friends with their VCR, it's a little
easier... :)
b) if so, is it of any consequence?
If you want to "computerize" rural areas, it is.
d) what can be done?
Start with the kids...and start them off right. Unfortunately, that seems
to be harder than it sounds, because I haven't personally seen one K12 school
district yet that has it right. I have heard of a few, though... (And I'd
be interested in hearing of those that you netters have experienced.)
Try setting up a non-hostile learning environment where the kids feel
comfortable learning from and teaching other kids. Let it progress naturally
to the point where kiddos can teach their parents. Disguise it as "homework",
even if they have to go to a community library computer to do it.
The farmers I have met seem inclined to distrust suits who try to tell them
exactly what they need and how much they are going to pay for it. Too bad
most computer-buying "city folks" aren't so wise... (ahem)
> -Ricardo
--
Jason Asbahr 116 E. Edgebrook #603
jas...@sugar.hackercorp.com Houston, Texas 77034
ne...@tree.egr.uh.edu (NeXTmail) (713) 749-2686 voice
st...@menudo.uh.edu UH NeXT Campus Consultant
Ronald Florence
I've noted that in general it seems that the field of agriculture
lags in the adoption of computers. [...] At a recent conference
of the Amer. Soc. of Agronomy, one of the hot topics was that
someone divulged that something like the Internet _exists_, and the
possibilities for electronic communications boggled the mind of
_most_ participants.
Software for farms has existed for a long time. Extension offices
were distributing TRS-80 programs to compute grain rations before the
IBM pc hit the marketplace, and even today there is a great deal of
software available and in use on farms, including programs for grain
and feed calculations, crop and fertilizer inputs, record keeping, tax
and accounting. I suspect farmers are no different from most
businesses in not necessarily keeping up with email and Usenet
technology that are old-hat in University Computer Science
departments, putting feed or new farm machinery ahead of a T1 Internet
connection in their budgeting priorities, and spending their time
repairing machinery or getting crops in instead of reading email and
news.
--
Ronald Florence
r...@mlfarm.com
Ricardo J Salvador
>[discussion of lack of expertise]
>
> a) is it fair to believe that this is the case in general among
> aggies?
>
>Well...probably, but if so, it's not just among farmers.
As mentioned in original note, am not sure my observations can be extended
to the farming community (matter of fact on the basis of my limited
observation, probably does not), but does apply to the academic agricultural
community.
>The farmers I have met seem inclined to distrust suits who try to tell them
>exactly what they need and how much they are going to pay for it. Too bad
>most computer-buying "city folks" aren't so wise... (ahem)
Agreed -- must always be on guard against consumerist come-ons. There are
places, though, where it seems that computerization actually enhances
self-sufficiency of farmers, and from what I can see it seems that puters
have in fact been applied appropriately by farmers when such a need/end
is the driving force.
-Ricardo