'Farm Connections' aims to bring beef sector up to speed
UNITED KINGDOM - It was claimed yesterday at the annual Oxford Farming Conference that only a fifth of British farmers use IT to manage their business, lagging well behind their counterparts in other major food-producing countries.However, leading beef farmers now have the chance to join the "Farm Connections" scheme, which was formally launched at the conference by Justin King, the chief executive of Sainsbury's.
Selected producers will be given computers, software and, most importantly, training so they can better compete in the market and be kept informed of developments in the industry.
Training will initially include teaching farmers the basics -- computer installation and becoming accustomed to the hardware, along with software instruction, the use of the internet and how to send and receive e-mails.
Once beef producers have acquired a degree of confidence and competence they will then be introduced to business-improvement packages, such as farm accounting systems, record keeping, the use of benchmarking, electronic form-filling and data submission, and buying and selling on the internet.
Source: The Scotsman