USDA NASS report sheds light on New York farmers’ use of the internet, computers, and other technology

ALBANY — In New York state, 81 percent of farms reported having access to the internet with 92 percent of those paying for access through a service provider, according to a new report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) New York field office.

In 2021, 46 percent of farms in the state used the internet to purchase agricultural inputs, up 4 percent from 2019. The report said 27 percent of farms used the internet to market agricultural activities, up 3 percent from 2019. Farms conducting business with non-agricultural websites in 2021 totaled 51 percent, down 9 percent from 2019.

In 2021, 63 percent of internet-connected farms in New York utilized a broadband connection while 58 percent of internet-connected farms had access through a cellular-data plan, according to USDA NASS. The agency said 69 percent of farms own or use a desktop or laptop computer, 41 percent own or use a tablet, and 69 percent own or use a smart phone.

In New York, 26 percent of farms used precision agricultural practices to manage crops or livestock. This includes using global positioning (GPS) guidance systems, GPS yield monitoring and soil mapping, variable-rate input applications, use of drones for scouting fields or monitoring livestock, electronic tagging, precision feeding, robotic milking, and other technology.