Year 2000 Computerized Systems Readiness Report National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 8, 1999, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Year 2000 Computerized Systems Readiness Report" call Kim Nielsen at 202-690-3347, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Most U.S. Farmers Have Heard of the Year 2000 Problem Eighty-one percent of U.S. farmers have heard of the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer systems problems and 68 percent realize that it could impact their automated farm systems. The Y2K problem is where some computerized systems may fail because two digits have been used to represent the year instead of four, such as 98 for 1998. The computer may not be able to determine if the year 00 is 1900 or 2000. The Y2K problem could cause computerized systems to malfunction, give erroneous results, or result in a complete system failure. The number of farmers using automated systems of any type is 32 percent. The most common types of systems used on farms are for record keeping and are used by 29 percent of farmers. Of the farmers using any type of automated system, 55 percent have inventoried their systems for Y2K problems and 31 percent of the inventoried systems had a problem. A solution is in process or completed for ninety-two percent of the systems identified with a problem. Of those farmers who have either fixed or are attempting to fix Y2K problems, 54 percent estimate the cost of fixing the problem will be less than $1,000. Twenty-two percent were unable to estimate the cost of fixing the problem. Survey Procedures: A sample of 1500 farms and ranches across the United States were selected from two economic sales classes: farms with sales of $249,999 or less and farms with sales of $250,000 or more. Within each class, sampling procedures ensured that each type of farm was proportionally represented. Trained telephone interviewers contacted the sample farms. A 76 percent response was obtained from the 1500 farm operators sampled. Once the data were collected, they were reviewed for consistency by both statistician and machine editing processes. The responses were then tabulated for each sale class by type of farm. Results by sales class and type of farm were then weighted back to the farm population. Farm Operators Responding YES to Awareness Questions by Economic Sales Class and Farm Type -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question : Type of Farm 1/ : :--------------------------------------: All Farms by Economic : Cash : Other : : All : Farms Sales Class : Grains : Crops :Specialty: Livestock : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Have you heard of the Y2K : problem? : All Farms : 82 78 84 81 81 $249,999 or less sales : 81 78 84 80 80 $250,000 or more sales : 89 86 83 87 87 : : Are you aware that Y2K problems : may impact farm systems? : All Farms : 66 61 81 68 68 $249,999 or less sales : 64 60 81 67 67 $250,000 or more sales : 77 75 86 77 77 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Automated System Usage: Farmers Owning or Leasing One or More Automated System by Economic Sales Class and Farm Type 2/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Farm 1/ : Farms by Economic :--------------------------------------: All Sales Class : Cash : Other : : All : Farms : Grains : Crops :Specialty: Livestock : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Farms : 42 34 39 29 32 $249,999 or less sales : 39 33 37 27 30 $250,000 or more sales : 57 59 68 57 58 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Cash Grains: Cash Grains & Oilseeds; Other Crops: Tobacco, Cotton & Other Crops; Specialty: Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Vegetables, Floriculture; Livestock: Cattle, Dairy, Hogs, Sheep, Horses, Aquaculture, Poultry & Other Livestock. 2/ Automated Systems include: Computer for record keeping; Irrigation system; Automatic feeding system; Storage system for grain or produce; Milking system; Milk storage system; Heating, cooling or ventilation system for livestock; Global positioning system; other automated systems. Inventoried Systems: Farmers Owning or Leasing Automated Systems Who Have Inventoried Them for Year 2000 Readiness by Economic Sales Class and Farm Type -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Farm 1/ : Farms by Economic :--------------------------------------: All Sales Class : Cash : Other : : All : Farms : Grains : Crops :Specialty: Livestock : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Farms : 49 33 66 59 55 $249,999 or less sales : 49 32 67 61 56 $250,000 or more sales : 49 43 60 46 47 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year 2000 Problems Identified: Automated Systems Inventoried That Have Year 2000 Problems by Economic Sales Class and Farm Type -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Farm 1/ : Farms by Economic :--------------------------------------: All Sales Class : Cash : Other : : All : Farms : Grains : Crops :Specialty: Livestock : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Farms : 36 30 29 31 31 $249,999 or less sales : 33 29 29 29 29 $250,000 or more sales : 47 40 29 47 46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year 2000 Problems Addressed: Automated Systems With Year 2000 Problems That Have a Solution in Process or Completed by Economic Sales Class and Farm Type -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Farm 1/ : Farms by Economic :--------------------------------------: All Sales Class : Cash : Other : : All : Farms : Grains : Crops :Specialty: Livestock : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Farms : 84 57 76 98 92 $249,999 or less sales : 83 50 75 100 93 $250,000 or more sales : 84 100 83 90 89 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Cash Grains: Cash Grains & Oilseeds; Other Crops: Tobacco, Cotton & Other Crops; Specialty: Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Vegetables, Floriculture; Livestock: Cattle, Dairy, Hogs, Sheep, Horses, Aquaculture, Poultry & Other Livestock. Farm Operators Owning or Leasing Automated Systems: Farms Reporting Systems and Awareness of Year 2000 Problem -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Farms :Farmers Awareness of the Year 2000 Automated Farm Systems : Reporting :Problems Who Own or Lease a System : Automated :---------------------------------- : System : Aware : Unaware -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Computer for Record Keeping : 28.8 74.5 25.5 : Irrigation Systems : 1.9 64.8 35.2 : Automatic Feeding Systems : 2.5 65.9 34.1 : Storage System for Grain, : Fresh Vegetables or Produce : 0.8 79.5 20.5 : Milking System : 2.5 72.1 27.9 : Milk Storage System : 1.9 49.5 50.5 : Heating, Cooling or Ventilation : System for Livestock : 2.1 93.4 6.6 : Global Positioning System : 1.2 81.7 18.3 : Other Systems : 2.5 69.0 31.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year 2000 Readiness Cost: Estimated Cost of Fixing Year 2000 Problems For Systems Identified with a Problem and a Solution in Process or Completed By Economic Sales Class -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Economic Sales Class : Estimated Cost of :--------------------------------------: All Fixing Y2K Problems : $249,999 or less : $250,000 or more : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Less Than $100 : 17.7 7.9 15.9 : $100 - $999 : 41.9 19.2 37.9 : $1,000 - $4,999 : 15.2 51.6 21.7 : $5,000 or more : 2.4 3.6 2.6 : Unable to Estimate : 22.8 17.7 21.9 : : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year 2000 Readiness Cost: Estimated Cost of Fixing Year 2000 Problems For Systems Identified with a Problem and a Solution in Process or Completed By Farm Type -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Farm Type : Estimated Cost of :--------------------------------------------: All Fixing Y2K Problems : : Specialty, Cash grain : Farms : Livestock : and Other Crops : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Less Than $100 : 20.8 4.7 15.9 : $100 - $999 : 32.8 49.6 37.9 : $1,000 - $4,999 : 20.8 23.8 21.7 : $5,000 or more : 0.8 6.7 2.6 : Unable to Estimate : 24.8 15.2 21.9 : : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farmers That Have Contacted Suppliers, Service Providers, Market Outlets, Financial Advisors, or Insurance Companies, to Inquire If Their Systems are Year 2000 Ready by Economic Sales Class and Farm Type -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Farm 1/ : Farms by Economic :--------------------------------------: All Sales Class : Cash : Other : : All : Farms : Grains : Crops :Specialty: Livestock : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Farms : 21 12 8 13 14 $249,999 or less sales : 21 11 8 12 13 $250,000 or more sales : 19 21 12 20 20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Cash Grains: Cash Grains & Oilseeds; Other Crops: Tobacco, Cotton & Other Crops; Specialty: Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Vegetables, Floriculture; Livestock: Cattle, Dairy, Hogs, Sheep, Horses, Aquaculture, Poultry & Other Livestock. 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