The ‘Net’ Effect on Agriculture
E-COMMERCE: Impacting the Way We Do Business!
Nashville, Tennessee
October 1-2, 2001
Nathan Watermeier
Program Leader, Technology
http://ebusiness.osu.edu
Topics
• Agriculture IT Adoption
• Technology Strategies in Agriculture
• Future Outlook
• Suggestions for Extension Professionals
Agriculture IT Adoption
What’s happening out there?
Farms with Computer Access
2001 U.S. Average - 55% of Farms have Access to Computers
80
70
Percent
60
1997
50
1999
40
2001
30
20
10
0
Northeast
North
Central
South
Region
West
US
USDA/NASS, 2001
Farms that Own/Lease Computers
2001 U.S. Average - 50% of Farms Own/Lease Computers
70
60
Percent
50
1997
40
1999
30
2001
20
10
0
Northeast
North
Central
South
Region
West
US
USDA/NASS, 2001
Computers for Farm Business
Percent
2001 U.S. Average - 29% Farms use Computers for Business
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1997
1999
2001
Northeast
North
Central
South
Region
West
US
USDA/NASS, 2001
Farms with Internet Access
2001 U.S. Average - 43% Farms have Internet Access
60
Percent
50
40
1997
30
1999
2001
20
10
0
Northeast
North
Central
South
Region
West
US
USDA/NASS, 2001
Farm Economic Class with
Internet Access
70
60
Percent
50
1997
40
1999
30
2001
20
10
0
1,000-9,999
10,000-99,999
100,000+
Dollars of Sales
USDA/NASS, 2001
Internet Activities
14
12
Northeast
Percent
10
North Central
8
South
6
West
4
US
2
0
Purchase
Agricultural
Inputs
Conduct Ag
Marketing
Activities
Access
USDA/NASS
Reports
Access other
USDA Reports
2001 Online Farm Activities
USDA/NASS, 2001
Producer’s Online
Internet Activity
Buying Online
• 78% Check Email
• 48% Buy from Vendors
• 72% Access Local
Weather
• 83% Want a Trusted
Local Vendor
• 75% Check Commodity
Prices
• 62% Find Ag Information
• 24% Won’t buy online Unfamiliar
• 17% Shop for Price
•
67% Shop for Product
(eAgriCounsel.org)
The Web: 166.14 Million Surfers
Strong in U.S., 2001
• Almost 60% population in U.S. has Internet
Access. (Nielsen Net Ratings, 2001)
• Only 27% Availability for high speed
access. Only ¼ of U.S. is wired for high
speed. (The Industry Standard, 2000)
What Gets Customers to Buy?
• 77% lower prices
• 65% more security
• 35% items easier to find
• 30% comparative data
• 15% easier ordering
• 14% faster delivery
• 12% better presentation
Jupiter/NFO, 1999
On-line Shopper “Come Backs”
• 85% best prices
• 74% high security
• 57% e-mail confirmation of order
• 55% frequent buyer and users discount
• 54% ability to track status of purchase online
• 28% e-mail alerts
Horning & Associates, 1999
Customer Problems Using the
Web
• 81% speed
• 34% organizing information
• 32% finding information
• 13% returning to a page
• 9% cost
• 5% not knowing where I am
• 11% other
Horning & Associates, 2000
E-Business Issues
• Knowledge gap between technology, products
and implementation
• Laws, Security
• Data and Information Ownership and Errors
• Privacy
• Warranties
• Development of new, constantly changing
communications models
•
of Business
Ohio’s
Broadband
Connectivity
Today, 63% of
Ohio’s
population has
access to
broadband
Cable Modem Service
Cable Modem Rollout
DSL
Interstate Highway
www.ecom-ohio.org
Why is Broadband Important?
• Community Economic Development
– Strengthen existing and attract new business
– Provide localized IT services and support
– Help sustain the rural community
• Foundation for value-added IT technologies
and services in the future
Technology Strategies in
Agriculture
GeoSpatial Technologies
Decision Support Systems
Internet and E-Business
Food Quality Technologies
Agriculture Is In a New Age
Information Age
Courtesy of Potash & Phosphate Institute
Future of Crop Production?
• Remotely sensed data
– Will we have yield monitors in the future?
• Electrical, Chemical, and Mechanical Sensors
– Protein sensors
– Soil nutrient sensors
• Variable rate application maps eliminated
– Automated sensors
Data will drive decisions
• High quality data layers
• Statistical and mathematical procedures
• Prediction models
– 2 month advance predictions for marketing products
• Bank loans, crop insurance, gov’t payments,
environmental compliance
• SSURGO – assessing soil properties for taxes
GPS and Documentation
Remote Sensing and
Sensors
• Monitor crop growth during the season
• Optimize field operation logistics
• Supervise employees
• Manage production risk
• Market niche products
• “Traceback” for food safety
• Document environmental compliance
Geographic Information Systems
(GIS)
• Stacked Set of Map
Layers
• Spatial and Attribute Data
Various Strategies
• Crop Production
• Marketing Products and Services
• Land Use Planning
• Disease Control
• Locating Large Scale Livestock Units
• Watershed Management
Management Zones
Precision Farming is Dead…
A European Perspective
(July 3, 2001 @gInnovator)
• 1) Classic Precision Ag is dead.
• 2) GPS will be equal to navigation
• 3) The biggest and most important discussion
point was traceback, documentation, etc.
• Summary: Documentation and navigation will be
the real practical precision farming in the future.
Georg Durrstein, www.satconsystem.com
Precision Ag Services and Enhanced
Seed Dealership Survey
(Farm Chemical Magazine and Center for Ag Business, Purdue Univ., 2000)
Precision Ag Services and Enhanced
Seed Dealership Survey
(Farm Chemical Magazine and Center for Ag Business, Purdue Univ., 2000)
Weather and Other Information
Predicted Dryland Results
What is the Internet Doing for
Farms and Agri-Business?
• Information Sharing
• Distance Education
• Buying/Selling Products and Services
• Marketing Commodities
• Data Storage and Decision Making
Information Sharing
• E-mail communication
• Electronic Business Card
• Sell yourself, commodities, products and
management
• Provide information and data to all levels of food
chain
• Educate general public (i.e., environmental
stewardship, community involvement)
Distance Education
• Online undergraduate and graduate
courses
• Online Training (free to fee-based)
• Certification
E-Business Models
Relationships
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
• Business-to-Business (B2B)
• Business-to-Government (B2G)
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
Manufacturer
Input Supplier
Producer
Product Handler
Processor
Consumer
Defining E-Business
• E-business is not E-commerce.
• E-business is the conduct of business on the
Internet.
– This includes buying and selling, online marketing,
servicing customers, providing and collecting
information, and collaborating with business partners.
• E-Commerce is a component of E-Business. It is
the mechanism for purchasing and selling online.
???
Computer Science
Research
Logistics
Sales
Biz Admin
Consumer Behavior
E-Business
P.R.
Engineer
Graphic Design
B to C
Marketing
??
Law
Quality Control
B to B
Types of E-Biz Model Formats
• Marketplaces
• Mall Portals
• Auction Sites
• Customized Web Site
• Informational / Tourism
E-Business Stores and Malls
• Basic templates provided
• Will get you up and going quickly
• Easy to do
• One-stop shop for everything
– Shopping Carts
– Credit Card Transactions
– Transportation
– Security
– Advertising and evaluation
http://www.ohiowines.org
DOT.COM Fallout
Was it too much too fast?
Self-Examination Period, 2001
• Certain Dot.Coms see the need to spend more time
educating about technology and expectations so
customers know how to access their products and services
online. (indicators: comprehensive help section, additional
methods for customer support, warranties/liabilities)
• Businesses are refining and enhancing existing
methodologies. (indicators: advertising costs down,
developing knowledge base systems)
• Trying to make sense of customer data already acquired.
(indicators: strongest investments in IT industry are in data
storage, database management, broadband and security.
InternetWeek, September 2001)
Communicating Quality Signals
• Clear crisp imagery
• Audio / Video
• Allow comparisons
• Allow samples
• Tracking information
• Customer Service/Support
• Testimonials
• Brand Recognition
www.brinkmanfarms.com
OSU E-Business Audience
Observations and Evaluations
(Small Business Audience)
• Internet Business Plans are not on paper
• Many have “informational” web sites more are
starting to get into full e-procurement web sites
this year
• Difficult to keep up with maintenance and online
marketing strategies throughout the growing
season
• Low web site traffic
(Watermeier, N, 2001)
E-Biz Topics Being Asked
• How to Get Noticed on Search Engines
• Managing the whole transaction process from
data collection, e-procurement, to follow-up with
customers.
• Web development “how to’s”
• Selecting a web hosting company
• Measuring ROI
• Email and mailing lists for customer interaction
and orders
(Watermeier, N, 2001)
Suggestions for E-Business
• E-Business is more than a web site. It is about
adding IT into other portions of the business, emarketing, and e-commerce.
• Plan for timing and expenses for e-business.
Learn and investigate mechanics of the
technology. Rely on experts to make it happen.
• Establish a good working relationship with your
web design/hosting consultants. Meet customer
expectations by delivering timely products and
information.
Suggestions for E-Business
• Visibility is important to get noticed. Watch your
competitors. Build Search engine compatible web
sites.
• Consider professional design, content and
navigation structure. Usability and download time
are key elements. Evaluate, adjust and repeat.
• Understand legal issues on the Internet. Own your
own virtual property. All offline laws apply online.
Use common sense and business practices.
Thoughts on Online Trading
• Grain sales are still new and limited
(i.e., few local buyers onboard)
• Price comparisons
• Independence and “neutral”
(i.e., Cybercrop, Rooster, E-markets)
• Online Decision Tools
(i.e., E-markets – Decision Rules for Contracts (DRC))
• Customer service?
Data and Information
Warehouses
• Local and regional data sets on a variety
of information
• Cropping and livestock information (i.e.,
varieties, soil types, yields, diseases,
insects)
• Organize, manage, consult
• Aggregate and mine data for decision
making and marketing
Data and Information
Warehouses
E-Business will not save
Agriculture
• Next generation of E-Agribusiness
will generate off of value in the
information and services that it
currently provides.
• Agriculture is becoming more
vertical with production and
distribution
• Requires new learning
opportunities and willingness to
share data between the different
levels of the food chain.
Next Generation E-Agribusiness
•
Traceback and Identity Preservation through
“suite” of data collection and interpretation
technologies.
•
This will be provided through documentation
(text, graphics, and voice), GPS, GIS, remote
sensing, other sensors, data
warehousing/mining, decision support systems,
and knowledge base systems.
Electronic Identification (EID)
•
•
•
•
Management Tool
Tracking Information
Quality
Food Safety
Ohio Beef Network – Ohio Cattlemen’s Association & OSU Extension
IdentityPreserved.com
• Tracking and identification tools for
capturing value for food and agriculture
• Includes services to keep track of
information and help make decisions
Postmark® Signpost
CropTouch TM
GMOCheck TM
TraitCheck TM
Future Outlook
Refinement of Technologies
• Mining multiple data sets
• Data Warehousing
• Increased Bandwidth
- Internet 2, wireless, cable, DSL, and
satellite
• Speech to text, text to speech
The Future of E-Business
• Growth will continue, will be more rational,
cautious
• Integration with strengths of business
• Sharing of databases and knowledge
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
• XML and other standards/platforms
The Future of E-Business
• Business to business e-com will continue to grow
• Consumers will expect brick and mortar
businesses to have a dot.com presence
• Successful models will be “clicks and mortar” and
“pure plays”
• Meanwhile the Web will be omnipresent
“X” Internet
• Defined by Forrester Research as
‘executable’ and ‘extendable’ Internet
– Cell phones
– Radios/TVs/Appliances
– Tractors and combines
• Wireless and Chip technology with Internet
connectivity
Future Technologies
• 3G Wireless (Third Generation
Wireless)
– Japan’s DoCoMo, I-Mode
– 80% Wireless Users in World are in Asia
(NTIA, 2001)
• WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
(DoCoMo, 2001
Virtual Reality
• Pesticide
Training
• Virtual
Conferences
• Crop
Consulting
Smell Technology
Computers equipped with
chemical spray devices.
Built on molecular
ionization processes.
Suggestions for Extension
Professionals
Basic Starting Point Learn about the Technology
• Use Internet tools in everyday education
programming
• You don’t have to be the expert on everything.
Explore the web and new technologies and
identify ways it can assist you.
• Don’t let the technology intimidate you or drive
your education programs
• Evaluate what is most effective for the audience
Where do we need to be . . .
• Increase Organization Skill Sets
- Training (Internet, GIS, E-Business Planning)
• Invest in Organization’s Technology
Future ($$$ and staff)
• Promote Online education
courses “DOT.EDU”
• Practice what you preach
- How ‘Useable’ is your web?
- 5 years?, 10 years?
- Begin building database driven web sites
Extension Programming
• Implement specialized IT teams across University: (i.e.,
GIS, E-business, precision agriculture)
• Non-biased position: implement research studies to
evaluate applications of technology in real-world
conditions
• Start building the technical capacity and partnerships
within local communities. Create a county Information
Technology Steering Committee.
• Train community leaders to assess the potential for EBusiness.
• Develop training opportunities to educate operators of
small- and medium-sized businesses how to plan,
establish, and expand business presence using the
Internet.
Watermeier.2@osu.edu