Adoption of New Technology

1
Adoption of New Technology

• Businesses adopt technology at different rates
• The adoption groups are
• Innovators-first to adopt 5 of farms
• Early Majority-most influential to
  others
• Late Majority
• Laggards
• Nonadopters

2
Barriers to Adoption of New Technology

• Complexity- more complex, greater resistance
• Divisibility- allows partial adoption
• Congruence-compatibility with farm and personal
  objectives
• Economic return
• Risk Uncertainty
• Conflicting information
• Implementation cost
• Cost of implementation-capital intellectual
• Loss of flexibility/farming subculture adherence

3
Business Goals affect Purchasing Decisions

• Research on farm families
• goals vary-profit,family wellbeing,satisfactio
  n,image, etc.
• Size and importance of purchase will affect
  how the decision is made-routine purchases do not
  require as much participation/input in the
  decision

4
Results of Four Wisconsin Focus Groups Farm
Decisions

• Questions Asked of Participants
• 1. Focus on a long term decision, discussion
  decisionmaking process,factor affecting the
  decision, who made the decision and what
  information sources were used.
• 2. If your farm enjoyed increased income of
  _____, what would be done with this money, who
  would decide and how would the decision process
  work.

5
Conclusions-farm decisionmaking

• 1. Long term decisions are made jointly
• 2. Information sources varied
• 3. Use of extra money- 50 would save or invest
  off the farm others would reduce work hours, pay
  down debt. Decision is jointly made.

6
Factors affecting decisions

• Life cycle-age of operators
• Role of other family members(children) in the
  decision
• Debt load
• Off-farm work
• Long term vs short term deicions
• Influence of production methods(grazing vs.
  confinement for dairy)
• Gender roles influence and perceptions of
  decisionmaking