Networking the Nation

Brad and Susan Martin

INTERNET USE

Brad and Susan spent an average of around 2 – 3 hours a day on-line. Although they admit this will reduce after the recent arrival of young William. Brad has largely taught himself to navigate the web after having it connected through a conventional phone connection about four years ago. Susan has been exposed to the internet through her work in Public Health and likes the ready supply of current information. “You probably have to have a need to go on and learn to use the internet, but once you do, your confidence and skill grows quickly and you find more and more uses for it. I think it will increasingly become a part of running every business,” says Brad.

Email is used increasingly for keeping in touch with local farmer groups such as the Birchip Cropping Group. A lot of emails are received with grain prices and other marketing news and advice. “We prefer to receive this information by email because the fax invariably runs out of paper or something!”

The Martin’s subscribe to Norton’s antivirus, that is updated automatically through the Internet.

BANKING AND FINANCE

The Martin’s have internet banking with the Commonwealth Bank for four years. The business now relies heavily on internet banking. “The convenience of internet banking is the main attraction, we can do our banking at any time of the day or night. The Quicken financial cash book software is able to automatically reconcile with the downloaded bank statement which saves a lot of time double checking and checking for errors”.

Budgets and other documents are often emailed to the Rural Finance Corporation and other advisers.

HARVEST MANAGEMENT

The internet is providing the opportunity for grain growers to retain control over their grain beyond the farm gate. If grain is warehoused the detail of loads delivered can be accessed on line and forwarded to cash, pools or contracts. For this reason the Graincorp website ( www.graincorp.com.au ) proved very useful to the Martins’ during the 2001 harvest. “Because we use contractors for cartage, it can be difficult keeping track of delivery tickets. The website has enabled me to keep track of deliveries and select specific loads to fulfil contract requirements. The Graincorp site is also useful to log on to check silo prices first thing in the morning during harvest”. The internet has the potential to deliver even more efficiency and control to farmers in this area of grain selling and marketing.

SHARE TRADING AND INVESTMENTS

The internet has presented a lot of opportunities in this area. The Martins have share trading accounts with www.commsec.com.au and are aiming to build up a share portfolio over time. They are members of an investment club who use National On-line Trading to cost effectively buy and sell stocks. The club also subscribes to www.vaneyk.com.au and Investorweb to obtain background information and analysis. “The internet is such a powerful tool for obtaining and presenting the up to date information and analysis” says Brad.

MACHINARY AND VEHICLES

New products and manufacturers are monitored via the internet. “You find the parent company sites in the USA and other countries and you access information not yet known about in Australia”. Sites such as www.farmhub.com.au are used to monitor the second hand machinery and truck market.

The Martins are currently in the market for a second hand car. A number of car dealer websites and other car websites have been searched to locate the specific type and model they are after. “The internet makes it possible to easily look much further a field and obtain competitive pricing. We were actually contacted by a salesman from a car dealer in Melbourne whose job was dedicated to monitor the enquiries on their website and trace them to make contact!”

WEATHER

“The Bureau of Meteorology provides a good service, their SILO facility ( www.bom.gov.au/silo ) is good for seasonal forecasts. During the 3 month spraying season we subscribe to the SILO meteogram service. This provides access to detailed local forecasts for the upcoming 7 days including details such as wind speed and direction”.

TRAVEL AND ACCOMODATION

Brad and Susan have researched and booked accommodation and travel and done background research for holidays on the internet. “We like to use it because the information is immediate, up to date and very visual and there are not too many travel agents out our way” says Susan.

In conclusion, Brad and Susan are both comfortable with the internet and see it as a part of their every day lives. They are looking forward to the development of this technology and applications such as high quality video conferencing to make communication even more effective.

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