Farming and the Internet: Reasons for Non-Use

Abstract

Rural broadband infrastructure and service has received a significant amount of funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These funds should increase broadband availability, but will broadband be used in rural areas and in particular by farmers? This paper uses Agricultural Resource Management Survey data to investigate why the majority of U.S. farmers choose not to use the Internet in their farm business. Although frequently cited by policymakers, concerns about inadequate Internet service or security actually account for a small percentage of responses. This research identifies targeted educational programs that focus on alleviating perceived barriers to Internet use.

Willingness to pay for smartphone apps facilitating sustainable crop protection

“…The results of Batte (2005) indicate that younger farmers are more likely to adopt computers for business purposes. Similarly, Briggeman and Whitacre (2010) found that Internet adoption decreases with increasing age. Rose et al (2016) confirmed a negative relationship between farmer age and the use of information and communication technologysupported decision support systems.…”

“…H3a: Increasing age has a negative influence on the WTP for crop protection apps Briggeman and Whitacre (2010) found that a college degree increases the likelihood of Internet adoption by 20%. In line with this, Batte (2005) reported that education has a statistically significant effect on computer adoption.…”

“…In case of crop protection, altruistic and egoistic motivational factors should be considered, since side effects of crop protection are notable beyond the scope of the single farm. Studies focusing on the adoption of technology and DST also usually consider factors related to the farm and farmer (e.g., Batte 2005;Briggeman and Whitacre 2010;Rose et al 2016). Therefore, hypotheses related to farm and farmer characteristics are additionally derived from the literature, with particular focus on those factors which are likely to be relevant in the context of a WTP for crop protection apps.…”

“Anytime, anyplace, anywhere”—A sample selection model of mobile internet adoption in german agriculture

“…Literature on the effect of farm diversification on computer and internet adoption in agriculture reveals mixed results. Amponsah (1995) described no correlation of diversification with computer adoption, whereas Briggeman and Whitacre (2010) found a negative correlation of farm diversification and internet adoption. In contrast to that, Mishra and Park (2005) found that farm diversification is positively associated with computer adoption and suggested that owners of relatively more diversified farms have to gather more information to make farming decisions and therefore are more likely to adopt internet.…”

“…H1d: More innovative farmers are more likely to adopt mobile internet. Briggeman and Whitacre (2010) provided evidence that some farmers do not use the internet due to security concerns.…”