Farm micros 'still being assessed’

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 20

Farm micros 'still being assessed’

Microcomputer technology is developing in the United States and Europe, but the best way it can be applied to assist farmers is still being evaluated, believes Mr John Nimmo, a director of Wrightson NMA, Ltd.

Whether the organisation of microcomputer technology for farmers can be viable for any . commercial company has also to be established, Mr Nimmo said in Christchurch this week.

During August he spent one month touring the United States looking at microcomputers in farming.

He saw'two main trends in microcomputer development as it applied to farming, he said.

The first was the development of microcomputer bureaus for the farmers, mainly for financial planning, and farmer education services.

But the key to success in this area will be the development and assembly of the appropriate software applications for farmers. A lot of software already existed, but in Mr Nimmo’s view some of it was oriented towards use by farm consultants rather than farmers. There was room to improve the standard and ensure variations useful to the different types of farming enterprises were developed. The second area of development Mr Nimmo saw on his trip was the use of videotext technology for pro-

viding information for farmers. Farmers obtain information either through their existing TV screens or with small stand-alone terminals. Mr Nimmo saw a trial of such a network which consisted of 200 farmers and provided up-to-the-minute market information on cotton and grain. The farmers were also able to receive news items of interest to them, farming weather forecasts, general information on the production of crops and livestock, home banking services and retail store catalogues. “Again the key to the success of this trial will be the accuracy relevance and

value of this information to the farmer,” he said. “One danger is information overload, which has been identified by many researchers to be a potential problem. “The question of whether such a scheme would be viable in New Zealand is obviously one which would require a great deal of research and careful evaluation,” he said. “The technology is there but the questions are whether it can be applied in a. practical way to farmers and- in a way viable to any commercial organisation.” To obtain the best use of technology, the farmer of the future mav have to have

access, through his local terminal, to many data bases, such as those maintained by

the M.A.F., other government departments, and the agricultural colleges.