Decision Enabling Data Collection and Management Project

Impacts of Results/Outcomes

Sixteen farm families are using their Dell Axim to help them record data and later “sync” on their desk top computers. This allows them to make decisions based on up to date data that is also more accurate because it was entered before the farmer forgot. We were disappointed that only 16 families have stayed the course and continue to use this technology. Surveys of this population revealed that each of them found the technology useful and the project worthwhile.
An interesting observation made by each of the team members is that some farmers have adapted the hand held technology with very specific tasks. One of those families sells compost. They developed a method where they generate invoices with their PDA and report almost 100% accuracy as papers are never lost and odd loads are not forgotten. They further report that it frees up one family member 25 hours a week when she is not developing invoices.

A young dairyman in another county uses his PDA everyday as all his health and production records are stored there with a program called of PC Dart developed by Cornell University. He is using his Axim to record all financial records through a PDA version of Quicken. Now he has suffered an interruption in that process because he changed his financial records to Quick Books and has not yet located and loaded a PDA Version of that program.

There are two observations to share here. One is the personality and the impact of generational variation as the dairyman is 6 years out of college. With little variation, the younger the farmer the greater the chance they will adopt this technology. The older farmers were the ones that “drifted away” from the project. There is little doubt that the farmers who really depend on their management were the ones more likely to look for ways to adopt the program as it was intended.

Another adopter is a woman who manages a multi-farmer CSA and buyers club. She designed a program on the PDA to allow her to keep orders straight for farmers and buyers. She had a tremendous job of record keeping and found that a paper version of these records was too slow and cumbersome.

If one were to rank or compare the adoption rate using age on one vector and inquisitiveness on the other; as inquisitiveness increases, so would the likelihood that an older farmer would fight through the learning curve to attain the skills to help him. Of course a farmer who had computer skills was way ahead of the group in terms of adoption.

We have discussed some differences in adoption and suggested some reasons why we think it happened that way but we felt we should not select only the younger farmers, fresh out of college to be our cooperators. Many older farmers who have strived to keep better records gave the project a chance.

There little literature regarding this type of project but further observations include is of course, can management skills be taught? Yes but can the desire to keep records be taught? We think we learned that it can not.

Another way to explain what happened in the project is to share observations from team members who developed the software and delivered the classes. The first is from John Miller, Extension Agent from Ohio County.

Team Member’s Observations
Of the Handheld Computer Farm Management Project
John Miller, Ohio County

Pondering our impact upon farmers’ ability to keep up to date farm records with hand held computing technology leaves me with mixed feelings. We as a team broke new ground creating innovative record keeping and decision making tools aiding cooperators in making better decisions with information they had in hand. These applications were linked to hand held devices for use by cooperators.

Adoption of this technology was not hindered due to the ease of use of the technology but rather by the historical biases of farmers in ability to keep records. Regardless of what record keeping system is available farmers just were not interested in keeping records. Cooperators in the project wanted answers to their farm management questions but lacked discipline to enter information daily. We find this to be common among most agricultural businesses. Persons who farm are busy people who prioritize their time based upon the greatest farm needs. Farm management issues are not a “something is dying” issue so it is usually near the bottom of the priority list.

Cooperators with more at risk seemed to use the hand held computer more than other cooperators. The larger and more complex the farming business seemed to necessitate better record keeping. These producers seemed to be more disciplined in entering information because they needed the information generated from the applications. The level of anxiety of not knowing where they stood with regard to expenses and revenues seemed to weigh on the larger producers making them more likely to keep records.

Three produces in the Northern Panhandle group who seemed to utilize the hand held device well were similar. Commonalities in gender, age and type of operation were evident. They were middle aged (35-50 years old). They operated the farm out of the pick up truck and had a designated in home farm office. They utilized lines of credits with banks, traded livestock and managed larger farms. Their families were younger; kids were in school and sports. These cooperators had time to ponder the farm operation sitting at a sporting practice waiting on a child and utilized the handheld computer during these waits. They were busy but needed to know their financial position on the farm because of banking and trading pressures. This mix of pressures kept the adopters of the handheld computer focused upon the financial aspects of the farm. They utilized the handheld computer as an aid to make decisions and make sense of what they were doing.

Producers who did not use the handheld computer as well as the others really did not have the pressures and need to track a changing physical and finically complex of a farming operation. These producers were older and perhaps more under control than the group of adopters. Farm management was not a burning issue with them.

Throughout the project the usual farm management issues continued to come up. Farmers really just resist carving the time out of a busy day to organize and keep records. Record keeping is for a rainy day that never comes in most cases. Farmers that were successful in utilizing the handheld computer seemed to have carved out a space in their home for farm record keeping. Their farm desk was a place receipts, sales check stubs and other farm related information could pile up to be processed. Processing the receipts, check stubs and other information on the farm fell into the same trappings regardless of using the farm record book or the hand held computer. Farmers who needed to be keeping on top of the information utilized the hand held computer as an aid to keep their information up to date. If there was not an immediate need for current information the hand held computer did not make better record keepers of people who did not need to keep a complex farm running.

Below is another analysis by another team member and the technology advisor of the project.
Observations of the Old County Agent
A Perspective on the Adoption of Technology for Record Keeping
Craig W. Yohn, WVU Extension Agent Jefferson County

These are my observations on three different farms that participated in the program of using PDA’s on the farm.

Bill White Grantham – Meadow Green Farm
Bill White has a long history of good record keeping on his 180 acre beef and hay farm. He does annual soil sampling and has records for each field back to the 1980’s. He has over 10 years of IRM Redbooks that he has used to keep calving, culling and weaning records in and has kept a day journal for over 30 years. He knows how many bales of hay came off each field and where these bales of hay have been fed back on the field. Bill not only keeps good records but uses them to make decisions related to farming practices, animal husbandry and economic decisions. He has also been a cooperator with several extension projects including the evaluation of small tank trout production, the evaluation of using the hydraulics on a tractor as a scale and the use of precision soil sampling and application on small acreages. He uses Quicken to keep his personal and farm records.
He seemed like the perfect candidate for using this tool. The problem found early on was that it did not fit his style of record keeping. In the case of Bill, writing down the record or recording the day’s events was as much a part of what he likes about farming as anything. Using paper, pencil and calculator is not seen as a time staking chore, but a form of reflection. His writing of his day journal at the end of the day has also been used to go over in his mind what was accomplished and making a “to do” list for the next day. The PDA was not seen as a time saver, but a tool that required putting on his glasses and making sure he was out of the sun to read it. Early technology flaws with synchronization issues also caused frustration at home with the rest of the family who used the same computer. In the end, Bill set the Axim aside.

What is interesting is that Bill has taken a great interest in the precision application of nutrients and the removal of nutrients when hay is made. This winter, he purchased an IPAQ PDA, FarmWorks software and a GPS system to be able to record the production of hay as he crosses the field. This was demonstrated two years before by yours truly on a very hot June day. I will be helping him use this new technology that will show the variability of hay yield in the field with a goal of one day being able to apply nutrients based on their removal rate.

Lyle C. Tabb and Sons
Cam, son Lyle IV and brother Howard have a long history at the Tabb farm of being innovators with farm machinery. They also have the only set of in-ground truck scales which they use to record production yields of chopped forages, the sale of those same forages and in the beginning keeping track of the amount of feed that was delivered versus what was paid for. The farm has gone through many changes over the last several years. It has gone from being the largest Ayrshire dairy cow herd east of the Mississippi, to a crop and beef farm.
During the end of the dairy cattle and beginning of the beef farm, the farm began composting all the dairy manure. This grew and grew to the point that now the farm also collects organic refuse from horse barns, stumps and trees from land clearing, building materials from construction sites and wood pallets and scrap wood from manufacturing plants. Much of this material was processed and then sold to other users. The paperwork to keep track of where bins were and what material had been picked up from who was mind boggling.
In steps the PDA. All three individuals got a PDA that had a database in it created by the Extension Agent which kept track of who they were hauling material for, what they were hauling, whether the individual was tax exempt and the fee for hauling the material. The program would allow the Tabb’s to print an invoice to the user of their services. The PDA had only one job to do. It was not used to keep field records, cow records, contacts or appointments
Since they only had one purpose, the PDA’s stayed in the trucks and may sit for a day or two or even longer without being charged. This meant that the information may be lost, information could not be entered and sometimes the program to enter the information was lost. What was also interesting was the way that the three used the PDA differently. The youngest, Lyle never really embraced the PDA as a recordkeeping tool. This graduate in Resource Management did not trust the technology and the effort that may go into keeping records that may be lost. Howard, who had managed the dairy herd and used DHI records was most interested and plays the games (we would compare scores on Bubble Breaker), uses the calendar and contacts and keeps certain records related to the beef herd. Using the computer to keep dairy and then beef records may have closely matched his record keeping behavior and the PDA record keeping tool closely matched. Cam used the PDA for its single purpose, but was hampered by the sun light issue, the size of the screen and the loss of data and the program used to enter the data. A success of the introduction of this technology on the Tabb farm is the use of the desk top Access database that was first created by the Agent and then modified by Cam’s daughter, Amy to more closely fit the needs of the farm. This program is still being used to track the movement of refuse boxes and invoice customers.

White Hall Farm –Steffanie Simpson
White Hall Farm is a breeding farm for Standard Bred horses. Steffanie also breeds and foals thoroughbred horses for other owners who are interested in taking advantage of the West Virginia Breeders Program. Other horses are also boarded and trained at the farm. Steffanie is a detail person who trains and manages her horses with fine detail. Keeping records on treatments, feeding, boarding and training for each owner can be complicated. A database was developed by this Agent with the help of Steffanie and another PDA user, horse farm owner and veterinarian, Kate Painter, to keep track of horses by owner. This allowed Steffanie to keep track of inventory, and invoice horse owners. Records were entered in the PDA and then transferred to the desk top computer for the printing of invoices.
Steffanie also recorded videos and took pictures of horses transferring them to the PDA so that she could show them to potential buyers when she was at horse shows or meetings. The PDA is such an integral part of her business that when she “lost” her PDA she went out and purchased another one. She also uses the tasks feature, calendar, contacts, and email. She is learning how to use Groups in Outlook to send targeted emails. She is also using the PDA to keep inventory of horses and machinery up to date which keeps her insurance coverage up to date.

Last are the observations of another of our team members.

The Use of a Hand Held Computer
In Monroe County, WV

Case Study
Brian Wickline

Using a hand held computer for some agricultural purposes can be difficult for even an experienced computer user. Different programs and templates to be chosen and implemented into a farming operation, but often times these don’t fit the individual needs of every producer, simply because of their management schemes.
Rachel Moran, a meat goat producer, in Monroe County has always been concerned with record keeping and knows the importance of good records on the farm. Rachel is responsible for paying all of the family bills and completing the annual taxes on the farm. Rachel has always kept accurate breeding, kidding, and performance records on her group of goats. She also maintains a database that keeps track of worming and other animal health issues. In the past Rachel was always writing down information at the barn and then transferring that same information from a tablet to a desk top computer at the house. She felt with the implementation of a hand held computer in her farming operation she could eliminate one step in her record keeping process, which would save her a substantial amount of time in the future.
The use of the hand held has been a blessing for Rachel, not only does she now keep her farm records on the hand held, but she can now use it’s calendar for appointments and scheduling of events, while always having a calculator at her access. Since the implementation of the hand held she has also become more in-depth in her record keeping. While using the small ruminant program, a database program created using the Microsoft Access program, she was able to implement a section that would keep records on individual worm loads of her animals, which in the future could help her develop a group of goats that would perform better and become less dependent on the use of wormers in her program.

The Use of a Hand Held Computer
In Monroe County, WV
Case Study
Brian Wickline

The hand held program was offered to individuals who had an interest in learning how to implement the use of a hand held computer into their normal farming practices and record keeping system. The group from Monroe County, along with other hand-held groups throughout WV, was considered pilot groups for the implementation of the Management System Initiative.
The farmer-educator pilot group designed and implemented a protocol of data management. The organization and implementation of this project combined the strengths, needs, and interests of both farmers and the agricultural professionals who served them. The educational portion of the program was refined and packaged into a ten lesson teaching plan program that was implemented during 2005 and 2006, to assist agriculture professionals and individual farmers advance in the use of better enterprise analysis and ultimately, better quality management decisions. The lesson plans were developed based on level of difficulty and computer knowledge. .
During the project seven educational programs were held, and one organizational program totaling 28 hours of classroom and lab instruction during 2005 and 2006. There were eleven participants including the agent involved in the programming. The level of impact was determined by the individuals whom have increased their knowledge of how to utilize the hand held computer. Seven of the eleven individuals in the program made progress during 2006 on how the operate, synchronize, and utilize the hand held computers in their farming operations. Three additional producers joined the MSI group during the spring of 2006.
During the summer of 2006 producers were to continue the educational lessons at home at their own pace. Satyaprakash Settipalli , graduate student under Extension Specialist Tom McConnell, traveled to Monroe County in September and spent two days working with members of the MSI group. During these two days Sayta helped producers with program installation, program development, as well as trouble shooting for problems the producers were having at that time.
All participants of the group have been on upward learning curve with the implementation of this project into Monroe County. In this case involvement has been very rewarding. Basic utilization, such as use of the calendar, of the hand held computer has gone well. The lessons that have been administered have been useful for all participants, but the use of the hand held computer must be accommodating for its user. The group in Monroe County is comprised of two dairy producers, two meat goat producers, one greenhouse manager and five beef cattle producers. The agricultural diversity of the group causes difficulty during program implementation when choosing a production management program in which all participants can use and are satisfied with. Therefore the agents needed to first implement programs that can be utilized by all participants very early in the programming to gain interest and cause routine use, and finally discover, or produce those programs that the participants could use on long term basis. During 2006, the first full year of completion of the project, the agent noticed among producers who were the early adopters, these individuals adjusted well to the use of the hand held computer. Producers who had a former background or a use of computers on a regular basis were much more likely to adapt easily to using the hand held, where as producers who had had some, but limited computer usage, had difficulty incorporating the use of the Axim into their everyday lifestyle.
Learning styles, past habits and the ability to trust new technology have all played a role in the adoption of this new record keeping tool that is becoming more and more a part of today’s active society. The integration of the phone with the PDA makes this technology even more useful, but not all in the agriculture community are ready for this new technology. Those that have embraced it are using it to make their businesses more efficient.

Economic Analysis

Even though measuring profit is a goal of most every project it was not the focus here. We wanted to measure the adoption rate of a new technology and learn if the farmers who adopted it continued to use it. That said, every farmer who completed the program reported some part of their record keeping was improved as a result of the skills they obtained.

Those who completed the program reported improved understanding of their operations because the data was recorded when it was fresh.
This writer and principle investigator continues to use his PDA and finds it especially helpful when conducting wool pools when there is so much data to record in a short period of time.

Farmer Adoption

The farmers who are interested in this technology will continue to upgrade their PDA. The recommendation is the Palm Pilot is the PDA that will replace our Dell Axim when they cease to contribute. I have been surprised that more farmers have not adopted this technology. I can imagine a cattle buyer or backgrounder making breakeven decisions during an auction with a PDA. I can not imagine how a dairy farmer can operate without some instant means to track financial information and to record production information.