WESTERN Australia has the highest proportion of farms using computers and the Internet in the nation, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The ABS study found that, during the year to June 30 2003, WA’s farmers reported the highest proportion of farms using a computer for business operations (67 per cent) and the highest proportion using the Internet for business operations (59 per cent).
Victoria reported both the lowest proportion of farms using a computer (49 per cent) and the lowest proportion of farm using the Internet (40 per cent).
Across the nation, 54 per cent of farms used a computer and 46 per cent used the Internet as part of their business operations.
The most common computer activity for farms was managing farm finances (44 per cent), with 31 per cent of farms using a computer for keeping records. Email (39 per cent of all farms) and weather information (35 per cent) were the most common Internet activities.
