Seventy-eight percent of Minnesota farms own or lease a computer, 6% higher than the U.S. percentage, according to the Midwest Field Office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

According to its recent Farm Computer Use report, 80% of Minnesota farms report having access to a computer, unchanged from 2015. Farms using computers for their farm business increased to 53% — 6% points above the national percentage, which rose to 47%.

Seventy-seven percent of Minnesota farms have internet access, up 2% from 2015. A digital subscriber line (DSL) connection is the most common method of accessing the internet, with 25% of farms in Minnesota using DSL to access the internet. That’s down 3% from 2015. In 2017, fiber-optic internet was the second most common way to access the internet in Minnesota, at 23%.

Minnesota farmers using a satellite connection stood at 20%; a mobile connection, 18%.

In 2017, USDA NASS added two additional methods to its report that farmers use for accessing the Internet — fiber-optic and mobile internet service for a cellphone or other device. Fiber-optic was used by 8% of the farms in the U.S., and mobile internet service was used by 17%. However, DSL connection continues to be the most common method of accessing the internet, with 29% of U.S. farms using it, down from 30% in 2015. A satellite connection, at 21%, remained steady from 2015. Other reported methods of accessing the internet include cable modem service and dial-up service. Cable modem service is at 15%; dial-up service, 2%.

For a look at national numbers, see Farm Progress' Aug. 24 story, 9 findings from USDA Farm Computer Usage report.

To read the whole report, go to the USDA NASS Farm Computer Usage and Ownership webpage.

Source: Midwest Field Office, USDA NASS