| Project
Title: |
Stage
4 of OnLine content for Australian farmers – FARM MANAGEMENT IMPACTS OF
INTERNET USE |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
BDL-4A |
| Researcher: |
Mr Jim Groves |
| Organisation: |
82 Cypress Drive
BROADBEACH WATERS QLD 4218 |
| Phone: |
(07) 5526 9698 |
| Email: |
grovesc@winshop.com.au |
| Objectives |
Estimate the
extent to which farm Internet use is impacting on farm management practices
and hence economic and social outcomes of farming activity in Australia. |
| Background |
Public policy in Australia aims
to increase access to the Internet among rural and remote Australians.
This policy stance rests on a view that there are social and economic benefits
from such access sufficient to justify the costs of policy intervention.
One such set of benefits may relate to improved farm management. |
| Research |
Desk research and email based
interviews with 27 farm Internet users. |
| Outcomes |
Four types of farm business impact
were noted
1. more convenient access to some information
and communication that would occur in any case
2. some access to information or communication that would
not otherwise be available, with some direct benefits identified, but the
major impact being more long-term and diffuse
3. ability to purchase supplies more cheaply, partly through
online purchases, but primarily through "comparison shopping"
4. ability to sell more profitably, although this impact
was believed to be minor.
In all, no farm Internet user interviewed could identify
a negative impact of Internet use on their farm business; equally, none
could quantify a very substantial positive impact. For some, there was
no farm impact - the benefit to them was in terms of social communications.
For others, there was some positive, but moderate, impact. |
| Implications |
For the Internet to have a significant
impact on farm management outcomes, there needs to be
§ continued
growth in farm Internet use
§ substantial improvements
in access to adequate communications infrastructure
§ continued growth
in information content
§ more effective search
and retrieval systems to locate information
§ more opportunities
for transactions, including those relating to purchasing farm supplies,
selling farm produce, provision of government services, and programs of
education and training.
|
| Publications |
Farm Management Impacts of
the Internet J Groves, RIRDC 1999 |
| Project
Title: |
Piloting
Internet Delivery of APSIM Support to farmers, advisers, and researchers |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
CST-1A |
| Researcher: |
Dr Robert McCown, Dean Hargreaves |
| Organisation: |
CSIRO/APSRU
203 Tor Street
TOOWOOMBA QLD 4350 |
| Phone: |
07 4688 1458 |
| Fax: |
07 4688 1390 |
| Email: |
bob.mccown@tag.csiro.au, dean.hargreaves@tag.csiro.au |
| Objectives |
· Design a
working prototype for holding online discussions, both real-time and delayed,
between farmers, advisers, and researchers about relevant management issues.
· Based on results from
the prototype, design and build a web site to facilitate interactions between
farmers, advisers, and researchers.
· Design and build an
online forum to facilitate asynchronous interactions between project participants.
· Design and build a
task specific multimedia instructional application to support and stimulate
farmer learning and interaction.
· Evaluate and report.
|
| Background |
Researchers at APSRU were puzzled
as to why, after 15 years of R&D, and the release of various products
from a number of organisations, significant demand for decision support
systems (DSS) had not developed among farmers, despite dramatic increases
in computer ownership. Similar indifference of decision-makers toward DSS
has been well documented in other fields, such as management and medicine.
In 1992 APSRU researchers set out to find why, and started by asking the
question: ‘Under what conditions, if any, could farmers come to value crop
simulation as an aid to their management?’ From seven years of research
emerged an approach for relevant computer-aided decision support in the
dryland grain-growing region of northern Australia. |
| Research |
Our approach involved using the
internet to facilitate ‘real-time’ interaction between farmers,
advisers and researchers; using a combination of ‘shared’ content and telephone-quality
voice, supported by limited video acting as a social ‘lubricant’. Our research
involved piloting this approach with a number of farmer groups around the
Darling Downs, in South-East Queensland. We used a qualitative research
approach including interviews, video, and audio recordings, observations,
and interviews for data collection. This approach included an integrated
approach to evaluation. |
| Outcomes |
The research reveals a number
of findings:
i) the practicality and efficiency of conducting
interactive sessions on the internet
ii) the online sessions were often preferred by farmers
to meeting face-to-face, due to increased timeliness and reduced travel;
iii) for such an approach to be successful the content
must be seen as highly significant to farmers’ management;
iv) such sessions are practical given current rural infrastructure
limitations; and
v) the internet has a potentially important role to play
in facilitating interaction between remote farmers and specialists around
specific issues, where time and/or distance are constraints.
|
| Implications |
This pilot project clearly demonstrates
the feasibility of online meetings, and describes the constraints to conducting
these with respect to current rural telecommunications infrastructure.
The internet has the potential to reduce the effect of distance to the
extent that it gives farmers access to services, which otherwise may not
be accessible due to cost of delivery.
|
| Publications |
1. Hargreaves, D.M.G.
McCown, R.L. et al 1999. Piloting internet based support for
farmers’ situated learning. Computer Supported Collaborative
Learning Conference ’99, Stanford University, Stanford, USA.
2. Hargreaves, D.M.G. Dobson, P. et al 1998. FARMSCAPE
Online: Using the internet for supporting interactions among farmers, advisers
and researchers. Proceedings of the 9th Australian
Agronomy Conference, Wagga Wagga, 1998 (pp 679-680).
3. Hargreaves, D. 1997. FARMSCAPE Online. In
Proceedings
of the 1st conference of the European Federation of Information
Technology in Agriculture (EFITA). Grosetto, Italy.
|
| Project
Title: |
Agricultural
Statistics: A needs and benefit/cost analysis |
| RIRDC
Project No. |
DAQ-255A |
| Researcher: |
Mr Ted Whybrow |
| Organisation: |
Qld Department of Primary Industries |
| Phone: |
07 3239 3261 |
| Fax |
07 3239 3685 |
| Email: |
whybrowt@dpi.qld.gov.au |
| Objectives |
The project
will produce a factual report on the agricultural and related statistical
needs of agricultural industries, governments and other users in three
Australian states (Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania) and in the
Northern Territory. The needs of selected Federal Government agencies will
also be examined. The report will match the availability of official statistics
to cater for these needs. Particular emphasis will be given to the ability
of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Stakeholders (NCASS - comprising
representatives of the major users of agricultural statistics in Australia)
will provide the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management
(SCARM) advice on a viable way forward to ensuring the supply of agricultural
statistics for use within Australia. |
| Background |
ABS has cut their annual Agricultural
Census to one census every five years and a survey in the intervening years.
No useful small area data will be produced in the survey years. Owing to
the importance of these data to major users of agricultural statistics,
the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) formed NCASS. Member organisations
of NCASS have agreed that a needs and benefit/cost analysis must be undertaken
for NCASS to provide recommendations, based on factual data, to SCARM,
NFF and the Federal Government as to a way forward. While the net benefit
due to the availability of a comprehensive set of agricultural statistics
will be calculated from data collected in this project, organisations affected
by the reduced supply in statistics in recent years have indicated that
a large number of important programs are at risk. |
| Research |
The research proceeded by surveying
representatives of organisations and units within organisations in a number
of states and one territory who the researcher and informed persons considered
may use agricultural statistics. The surveys concentrated mainly on Queensland
and South Australia. In all, 32 group interviews were conducted and 240
mail survey questionnaires were returned.
Owing to difficulty in constructing a complete population
frame of agricultural statistics users, the results of the surveys should
be interpreted as the tabulated responses of those who responded to the
surveys. They should not be considered as the inferred statistically correct
response for Australia.
ABS conducted a similar survey of Commonwealth Government
agencies that use agricultural statistics and provided their results for
inclusion in this report.
Relevant text and material from various meetings involving
ABS and the National Committee of Agricultural Statistics Stakeholders
(NCASS) were also reviewed. |
| Outcomes |
§ ABS agricultural
statistics are vital to numerous activities undertaken by the organisations
surveyed
§ The community receives
a wide variety of benefits from activities in which agricultural statistics
are used. These benefits translate into hundreds of millions of dollars
through the support given to making more informed decisions, assistance
to industries/communities to obtain strategic direction, improved regional/
community economic activity and many other ways
§ The unavailable of
annual sub-state ABS agricultural statistics will have severed detrimental
effects on a large range of activities undertaken by respondents to the
NCASS survey
§ The value of benefits
lost to users of statistics and the community will be far greater than
the savings made by the Commonwealth Government in not collecting reliable
annual sub-state ABS statistics
§ While there is considerable
demand for statistics on issues for which no or very few statistics are
being collected (eg the environment, technology and social issues) relatively
few respondents who indicated that these statistics were highly useful
said that needed them annually at the SLA or GLA level
§ A relatively small
number of organisations surveyed use statistics from sources other than
ABS
|
| Project
title: |
Unmet
demand for online services in rural Australia |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
FW-1A |
| Organisation: |
Farmwide Pty Ltd
Gr Floor, 14-16 Brisbane Avenue
BARTON ACT 2600 |
| Phone: |
02 6273 6395 |
| Fax: |
02 6273 6413 |
| Email: |
rceramidas@farmwide.com.au |
| Objectives |
Estimate extent
of unmet demand for online service in rural Australia and the extent to
which infrastructure and other developments will meet this demand |
| Background |
Claims of unmet demand have been
important in policy debates on rural telecommunications. However, evidence
of the extent of unmet demand has been less prominent, and only partial,
and has not been combined with an assessment of the implications of current
and impending technological, market and policy developments. |
| Research |
Desk research and original research
and survey material from on-line work and activities of Farmwide Pty Ltd. |
| Outcomes |
Unmet demand arising from quality
and price problems in rural telecommunications is estimated to be equivalent
to around 30% of the existing level of online usage in rural and remote
Australia.
Like all other studies of unmet demand, these figures
do not take into account the very significant social and economic ("external")
benefits of online usage. It is very likely that some unmet social
demand exists on top of these estimates of unmet private demand, but the
extent of this gap is unknown, and probably unquantifiable.
A number of technological, market and policy developments
are likely to relieve a proportion of this unmet demand over coming years.
These include ongoing improvements to rural telecommunications infrastructure,
the impending availability of broadband telecommunications services, particularly
satellite delivery, policy initiatives to subsidise some digital data capability
and fund improvements to rural telecommunications infrastructure, and policy
initiatives to reduce Internet access costs.
However, these improvements will leave many rural subscribers
- possibly as many as 50 percent - unable to access online services at
a line speed equivalent to that available in metropolitan areas. In all,
these policy developments, in the context of their technological basis,
should approximately halve the extent of unmet demand. |
| Implications |
There is a clear case for further
policy action, such as to include progressive improvements to rural subscribers'
line speeds within the Customer Service Guarantee arrangements. There is
also a need for continuing work in realising the broader social and economic
benefits of rural online access, such as in relation to content development,
awareness raising and overcome barriers to online access arising from lower
levels of support. |
| Publications |
Farmwide Online Services Pilot
Project, Farmers Guide to the Internet Editions 1 & 2. |
| Project
Title: |
The
Australian Farmer’s Guide to the Internet – Second edition |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
FW-4A |
| Organisation: |
Farmwide Pty Ltd
Gr Floor, 14-16 Brisbane Avenue,
BARTON ACT 2600 |
| Phone: |
02 6273 6395 |
| Fax: |
02 6273 6413 |
| Email: |
rceramidas@farmwide.com.au |
| Objectives |
The aim of The
Australian Farmer's Guide to the Internet - Second Edition is to revisit
the material included in The First Edition to amend, update, delete or
include new contents where necessary, to ensure the forthcoming publication
is relevant and up to date for the target audience at the time of publication. |
| Background |
The original Australian Farmer’s
Guide to the internet was a comprehensive introductory text, which
introduced the Australian agricultural sector to the services and applications
of the Internet in layman’s terms.
The original publication proved popular with its target
audience, resulting in the sell out of a 3000 copy print run. Based on
the popularity of the original publication, coupled with increased awareness
and adoption of the Internet in rural and regional Australia, production
of a second edition seemed a logical course of action. |
| Research |
In conducting research for, and
compiling the second edition of The Australian Farmer’s Guide to the
Internet, three essential principles were applied
§ Delete any
material from the original publication which was out-of-date or diminishing
in relevance to the target audience
§ Add new material
which was of increasing significance to the target audience which was not
relevant/available at the time of the original publication (eg changes
in technologies/services) and
§ To amend the layout
of the publication in order to improve the structure and logical progression
of content within the publication.
|
| Outcomes |
The outcome of this project resulted
in a 426 page publication (approximately 100 pages larger than the original
publication), which is aesthetically similar to the first publication in
order to capitalise on the brand recognition of the first edition.
The second edition is a more comprehensive and well rounded
publication than its predecessor, and contains new material on
§ The history
of the internet
§ How the internet
works
§ The telecommunications
environment
§ The World Wide Web
§ Searching the Internet
§ Electronic commerce
§ Internet Security
§ Emerging technologies
§ Web site reviews
§ ISP’s available in
Australia
§ A number of troubleshooting
tips and pointers
|
| Implications |
The completion of this project
has resulted in The Australian Farmer’s Guide to the Internet – Second
Edition going to market. The implications of this should result in
a greater proporation of Australia’s agricultural community having access
to a resource, which can help them
§ Better understand
the principles and processes of how the Internet operates and the opportunities
it presents to them as isolated Australians
§ Be better informed
about the issues associated with connecting to the Internet from rural
or remote Australia
§ Enhance the lifestyle
(from both a social and economic perspective) and
§ Disseminate their
newfound knowledge of the Internet throughout their community, thereby
increasing awareness of online services in regional Australia
|
| Publications |
The Australian Farmer’s Guide
to the Internet – Second edition 1999 |
| Project
Title: |
A
national online information service with search interface for agri-industry |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
KDI 22A |
| Researcher: |
Ruth McIntyre and Joanne Baines |
| Organisation: |
Kondinin Group
PO Box 913
CLOVERDALE WA 6105 |
| Phone: |
08 9478 3343 |
| Fax: |
03 9478 3353 |
| Email: |
joanne@kondinin.com.au |
| Objectives |
§ To develop
an internet search interface that will assist farmers quickly locate quality
agricultural research and extension information off the internet.
§ Extend the current
FarmLine
service into an electronic form that will meet a growing requirement by
farmers for timely and accessible technical information.
§ To develop an internet
starter information package for new users.
§ Set-up a suitable
management and commercialisation strategy to ensure the service is ongoing
and viable.
|
| Background |
The recent rapid uptake of the
internet by farmers is fuelling the demand for quality content and better
ways to find relevant information quickly. Increasing the access to quality
information will help farmers make more informed decisions and improve
the profitability and sustainability of their business. This project aims
to replicate the FarmLine information service on the internet. To
do this it will incorporate an agricultural search interface with FarmLine
information resources.
This project will assess the most appropriate way to charge
for information and gain revenue from advertising to ensure the site is
profitable in the longer term.
|
| Research |
§ A desktop
review of search interface technology, electronic information delivery
and commercialisation strategies was undertaken.
§ The development of
a search interface for the internet.
§ Gather and convert
information resources onto the internet.
§ Testing of the prototype
web site.
§ Pricing options were
determined, site launched and promotion ongoing
§ Internet site launched
and promotion and awareness undertaken.
|
| Outcomes |
An internet site that is a portal
for agricultural research and extension information. Information providers
such as state departments of agriculture have a central venue for distributing
their information and farmers have acentral venue for accessing information.
E-commerce on the site allows secure transactions to take place is information
is purchased. |
| Implications |
§ Kondinin
Insite focuses on delivering information that is practical, relevant and
timely. An emphasis will be placed on quality with information being sourced
from organisations that have a good reputation for producing quality information.
§ Providers should
view the site as the best place to market and distribute information.
§ Quick and easy access
to quality information will help farmers obtain that competitive edge.
Using the best information available will help farmers make more informed
decisions and ultimately improve their productivity.
§ Kondinin Insite will
also be a location where information can be accessed either free or charged.
|
| Publications |
No Publications except a CD-ROM,
which provides tools for farmers to access the internet and directions
on using Kondinin Insite. Media releases were released and mention was
made in the comment page of April issue Farming Ahead 1999. |
| Project
Title: |
Communication
Tool Workshop |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
NYP-1A |
| Researcher: |
Mr Paul Comyn |
| Organisation: |
NSW Primary Industries Training
Advisory Body |
| Phone: |
(02) 9664 9191 |
| Fax: |
(02) 9664 7676 |
| Email: |
nswpitab@ozemail.com.au |
| Objectives |
To further develop
a communication tool that will
§ produce
a communication tool that is both practical and theoretically sound
§ determine what resources
would be required to allow providers and producers to use the tool; and
§ to develop a marketing
and dissemination plan for the tool and the benefits associated with it.
|
| Background |
In 1998, the then existing education
and training arrangements for primary producers were noted as being characterised
by:
§ Complexity
regarding the available services, including who delivers what and how they
can be accessed
§ Confusion with regards
to the comparative on-farm benefits of various programs and ultimately
their market positioning
§ Competition for the
utilisation of financial resources and the time of farmers
§ Little coordination
between the formal vocational education and training sector (VET) and other
providers of information and training
Discussions between Property Management Planning Coordination
and the Meat Research Corporation identified a need for an improved understanding
by producers and their information providers of how various extension programs
fit together, and the different benefits offered by them.
These discussions progressed into a workshop at the Learning
Communities, Regional Sustainability And The Learning Society International
Symposium held in Launceston in June 1998. At the workshop, support
was gained for a concept of "mapping" extension and training programs from
the tertiary sector, extension providers and since then, farmers’ organisations
and Primary Industry Training Advisory Boards. Some of this work has been
attempted, albeit in an ad hoc and uncoordinated fashion.
These informal consultations also elicited support for
the concept of a ‘communication tool’ that would help farmers make better
choices about the range of learning programs in the market, including accredited
education programs which form part of the informal education system. It
is envisaged that an appropriate communication tool would
§ Allow providers
to position their products against a common decision-making template
§ Allow producers to
understand how the various programs on offer relate to each other and their
own information needs
§ Increase the effectiveness
of current delivery arrangements
§ Encourage learning
amongst primary producers.
RIRDC support was obtained to fund a national workshop to
further develop the concept of such a tool. The project was managed by
the NSW Primary Industries Training Advisory Body (PITAB). |
| Research |
The overall objectives of the
workshop were
§ To further
develop a communication tool that easily defines and positions educational
and extension products in the market place
§ To determine what
resources would be required to allow providers and producers to use the
tool
§ To develop a marketing
and dissemination plan for the tool and the benefits associated with it.
The workshop was held in 1999 and brought together a number
of key stakeholders from each State and Territory. Representatives were
drawn from industry, State and Commonwealth departments of Agriculture
/ Primary Industry, Industry Training Advisory Bodies (ITABs), private
consultants, Registered Training Organisations including TAFE, agricultural
colleges and research and development corporations.
Over two days, participants worked through a process to
identify the key issues that a communication tool could address. They also
identified the features that would need to be included within the tool
in order for it to be effective. |
| Outcomes |
The group determined that the
tool would be an integrated national database of products and services
that included a diagnostic device that would support the decision making
processes of producers. It was felt that such a database would
§ Be a searchable
national resource
§ Prove a framework
for product comparison
§ Incorporate a template
to describe each ‘product’ in simple and consistent language
§ Incorporate an interactive
self assessment of needs by the users (farmers)
§ Rely on providers
of information and training to self assess their product or service and
complete description template
§ Allow feedback and
review by producers to ensure products meet descriptions as provided by
providers
§ Be available if possible
in different forms (media – paper, computer etc)
As a result of the issues and features identified, it was
concluded that there is an opportunity to fund a further project, or projects,
which can put in place such a database. |
| Implications |
The workshop coincided with the
activities of the Rural Industries Learning Committee (RILC) The RILC was
formed through the work of the Rural Training Council of Australia who,
with others, recognised the need for closer cooperation between the formal
VET sector and the national extension based network of Departments of Primary
Industries. The goals of the RILC have since been endorsed by the CEOs
of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management (SCARM)
agencies and the CEOs of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA).
A number of representatives of the RILC participated in
the RIRDC funded communication tool workshop and have taken an interest
in the outcomes of the project. |
