WASHINGTON D.C. — According to a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 14, Wyoming farmers and ranchers have the highest percentage of farms with access to the Internet in the country. The report, Farm Computer Usage and Ownership, tracks computer usage in the agriculture industry, with farms defined as "any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year." According to the report, in Wyoming 81 percent of farms have computer access in 2009, compared to 76 percent in 2007; while 80 percent have access to the Internet compared to 66 percent in 2007. During 2009, 40 percent of Wyoming farms used the computer to conduct business, with 13 percent making agricultural purchases and 15 percent making agricultural sales over the Internet. The means of accessing the Internet in Wyoming roughly mirrors national trends except for access to satellite, where Wyoming, due to the remote nature of many operations, ranks second only to Colorado. In Wyoming, 20 percent of farms are still using dial-up, 32 percent use DSL, 5 percent use cable, 28 percent use satellite, 12 percent use wireless and 3 percent "unknown." Nationally, 23 percent of farms rely on dial-up, 36 percent on DSL, 11 percent on cable, 13 percent have satellite, 12 percent use wireless and 4 percent are "unknown." Nationwide, computer useage is highest in the largest operations, (with sales of $250,000 and up where 81 percent have computer access. On the smallest farms (with sales of less than $9,999), 60 percent have computer access. In the West, computer use among livestock farms slightly outpaces computer use in crop farming, at 72 percent and 69 percent respectively. However, only 41 percent of livestock farmers in the West say they use the computer for business, compared to 44 percent of crop farmers. Nationally, the largest crop farmers have the highest use of computers for business, at 71 percent. In 2008, the USDA estimated the number of farms in Wyoming at 11,000, unchanged from 2007 and up slightly from 9,200 in 2005. The number of 2009 farms will not be available until next February. The 2009 June Agricultural Survey provided the first opportunity for all American Indian operators to report computer usage individually. Previous Farm Computer Usage and Ownership releases allowed for a single report for an entire reservation.

For the full report go to: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/FarmComp/FarmComp-08-14-2009.txt

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