More Iowa farms using computers, primarily for business

More Iowa farmers are becoming tech savvy.

Seventy-three percent of Iowa farms own or lease a computer, up slightly from 68 percent in 2011, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Seventy-one percent of Iowa farms have access to the Internet, up from 66 percent in 2011.

DSL is the most common method of Internet access, with 34 percent of Iowa farms using it, down from 36 percent in 2011. Wireless access has remained unchanged since 2011 at 28 percent.

Iowa farmers using computers for their farm business rose to 53 percent this year, up 2 percent from 2011 and 33 percent higher than the U.S. percentage.

A total of 67 percent of U.S. farms have Internet access, compared with 62 percent in 2011. Seventy percent of farms have access to a computer, up 8 percent from 2011.

The proportion of farms owning or leasing a computer at 68 percent is up 8 percent from 2011. Farms using computers for their farm business rose slightly to 40 percent, compared with 37 percent in 2011.

DSL is the most common method of accessing the Internet, with 35 percent of U.S. farms using it, down from 38 percent in 2011. Dialup access dropped from 12 percent in 2011 to 5 percent this year.

Cable was reported as the primary access method on 13 percent of the farms, up slightly from 11 percent in 2011.

For crop farmers, 71 percent have computer access, up 6 percent from 2011, and 45 percent use a computer for their farm business, up 10 percent from 2011. Internet access for crop farms has increased to 68 percent, compared with 64 percent in 2011.

A total of 70 percent of livestock farms have computer access and 66 percent have Internet access.