IT Connects Scheme
How the scheme worked
A total of 988 farmers and growers took part in the Increasing Access to ICT Scheme evaluating 37 different technology solutions.
At the outset CAFRE IT Technologists carried out an evaluation of each new technology. If the technology showed clear potential, then it was placed on a number of farms for assessment, to establish the business benefits in a wide range of situations. These farmers and growers provided feedback on how the technology was benefiting them and their business.
The types of ICT solutions assessed can be put into 12 broad categories as outlined in the following table, along with the numbers of farmers or growers who assessed the technology in their businesses.
Technology Grouping |
Number of Applications |
|---|---|
PDA and Spreadsheet |
183 |
PDA and Dairy Management |
349 |
Milk Tank Monitoring |
19 |
PDA and Beef Management |
162 |
PDA and Pig Management |
37 |
PDA and Sheep Flock Management |
20 |
Electronic Identification of Livestock |
14 |
UMPC Internet Access for Poultry |
56 |
GIS and Precision Farming |
27 |
Online Herd Management |
51 |
Online Marketing for horticulture |
1 |
Other |
69 |
988 |
All sectors of the industry took part in the scheme. There was greater uptake by the more intensive sectors. This was expected as these businesses usually have more information to collect and analyse for management purposes.
What it means
- PC (Personal Computer) - The desktop or laptop computer used in the farm office.
- PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) - A PDA is a pocket-sized, hand held computer typically with a 5 cm screen. It is designed to record information while on the move. For over 70 percent of the participants a PDA was part of their new ICT solution. In some cases it linked with a spreadsheet on the farm PC while in others it integrated with a farm management software package on the office PC or on the milking parlour PC.
- UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) - A light, portable computer with a screen and a keyboard, It’s about half the size of a normal laptop. This was used to connect to the internet remotely and record and transmit production data in poultry houses.
- GIS (Geographic Information System) - GIS is a term used for systems that collect, store, analyse and display information based on specific geographic locations, or map references. In agriculture GIS is the basis for Precision Farming, allowing growers to do yield, soil nutrient or weed mapping and providing data for variable rate application of seeds, fertilizer and sprays.
