Obvious And Very Important Things Computers Can Do For Farmers

USDA Farmers' Bulletin No. 2277: Computers on the Farm, by Deborah Takiff Smith is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. What a Computer Can Do for You

You can use a microcomputer to help you—

Determine the most economical feed ration for dairy cows and other farm animals.

Schedule irrigation,

Get quick access to records,

Keep machinery inventories and depreciation schedules,

Help with tax records and making out income tax returns,

Keep livestock breeding and production records,

Keep a record of loans and cash flow to meet interest and principal payments,

Determine levels of earnings by working through a profit and loss statement and by calculating a percentage return to capital and a percentage return to equity,

Decide the optimum production choice for a particular farm in a given year, and the optimum combination of inputs to grow the crops or livestock chosen,

Store large amounts of data, and

Get current market and weather information if the microprocessor is connected via the telephone to data bases (see section on online services).

Software programs are also available in such areas as financial management, crop and field records, mailing lists for customers of certified seed and breeding stock, machinery purchase versus custom hiring, investment feasibility of building and livestock facilities, commodity price charts and tables, income taxation, marketing, soil conservation, and integrated pest management.

The computer and its associated software packages can help you do four kinds of work: (1) store and manipulate records, (2) provide analyses for management decisions, (3) control machines or monitor production, and (4) communicate faster with other people through their computers and data bases.