Computer Use by Ohio Commercial Farmers

Although computer technologies have evolved rapidly, farmers have been slow to adopt these technologies. This research identities factors influencing farmers ' adoption of computers and the number and type of applications for which the computer is used. Ohio commercial farmers were randomly sampled and analyzed using multinomial logit techniques. Results suggest that older farmers are less likely to adopt computers, less likely to find them useful, and make fewer applications of the computer in their business. Education level is positively associated with computer adoption and with increased numbers of applications made of the computer. Key words: computer adoption, computer applications, multinomial logit analyses, value of information. Agricultural businesses increasingly use infor-mation as an input in the production process. During the past decade, information options available to farmers changed substantially. Rapid development of computer and telecommunica