Teagasc Committed to IT Development for Irish Farmers

Mr. Pat Boyle, Teagasc Head of Advisory Services told the Teagasc IT Conference in Kildalton College today (Thursday 14 July 2005) that Teagasc is fully committed to improving IT based services for our customers and in particular our farmer clients.

Teagasc has secured funding to re-develop our IT infrastructure so that all our staff will be fully equipped and trained to deliver e-services. The Information Society Fund has already financed our existing on-line services such as, the Dairy Herd Monitor, e-Profit Monitor and Food Assurance on-line.

“W e are presently developing automatic texting services to clients, soil analysis results on-line, and a new database managed website, all of which will contribute to more interactive services. IT is going to be the means of accessing the right information as it is needed, when it is needed”, said Mr. Boyle.

Continuing Mr. Boyle said, “T he future for commercial farmers, whether they are full or part time, is going to be more dependent on automation and IT. Automation and IT gives us the capacity and ability to do more in less time while ensuring that all essential information is stored and available for use. IT application will allow farmers to predict economic returns and make better decisions”.

“For part-time farmers IT will be even more valuable in providing instant access to information through PC, laptop or mobile phone devices 24/7. These technologies make it possible to manage your farm from the work place, home or any other location”.

In conclusion, Mr. Boyle said that the rollout of broadband will provide better services and value from IT for farm businesses and other rural based enterprises.

Ends

Issued by

Larry O’Loughlin, A/Head, Public Relations, Department, Teagasc

Tel: 059 9183408; 087 2562434; Email: loloughlin@hq.teagasc.ie