Information technology notes February 2008

Most of us have one; some of us have more than one. Your PC and its associated hardware and software is a complex piece of kit.  We have invested our cash, and we should be getting the most out of our investment.  Are you using your PC’s capabilities fully to assist you with your farm business? Do you know what your Office application software does? Can you use the features in your new Farm management Software? If not, then your must consider training.

IT training is an aspect of computer ownership regularly overlooked by many farm businesses, but it needn’t be. There is a large number of training options available to farm business owners. You can find course tailored for all levels of computer experience, so if you have just bought your PC and don’t know your right mouse click from your scroll bar, don’t worry you are not the only one and there is a course for you. But where can you find IT training?

When choosing a training option, you should make sure that it meets your needs. Assess what level of IT experience you have and what you hope to achieve, aim to build upon that experience but try to avoid doing too much too quick. Most training providers will let you know what level of experience a course is aimed at and help you to choose the best course for you.

A good place to start is your local Further & Higher Education College - www.femeansbusiness.com. They will offer a range of generic IT courses. These are designed to meet the needs of the general public and are a great way to start and learn the basics.

Once you are comfortable with the basics, switching on/off, typing simple messages and maybe even sending an email, you are ready for the next step. As farm business owners, it is important that the IT skills you develop are appropriate for your business, you shouldn’t really need to know how to remove red-eye from your holiday snaps or edit your home videos. But as a farmer you should focus your effort on courses designed to meet your business needs.

CAFRE offer a range of IT short courses that have been carefully designed to focus on the requirements and meet the needs of the farmer. There are a number of courses to choose from and registration information and course details can be found on the CAFRE web site (www.cafre.ac.uk/improving-it-skills).  These courses are available to all farmers and member of farming families free of charge.

"It opened up a whole new world being able to see our herd list at the touch of a button, even at 11 o'clock at night." According to Helen Gregory, Crossmaglen who recently completed a CAFRE short course on APHIS Online

If you have ever looked at the list of farm software suppliers on the RuralNI web site (www.ruralni.gov.uk/ag_software) you would have seen the wide range of companies offering software packages tailored to meet the demands of a modern farm business. Any of these packages will contain a broad range of features, some of which may not be easily accessible. So, when it comes to deciding on which package to purchase, make sure you are aware of available training. You will need more than a 30min brief description of what your new software can do, make sure that there is a structured programme designed to make you comfortable with your new software.

Now that you have finished your training course, you must put what your have learnt into practise. Unless you continue to use your IT skills regularly you will find your self taking a step backwards. But once you have mastered the basics, you will find yourself increasing in confidence and able to use more advanced features.