Sure, Joe has a computer, but he hasn't really gotten the hang of it yet. More and more farmers own computers. The equipment is adequate to the task for farm management.
Farmers are certainly capable.
Yet, the task of mastering the wonders of the microchip stimulates some, while daunting others. How much farmers use their computers is influenced by many factors.1 The ways in which a person with unique attitudes and preferences goes about learning the computer may be a particularly powerful influence. If farmers don't learn successfully, they can't efficiently use computers. Moreover, if the learning methods used in the task are distasteful, the chances of upgrading skill beyond a rudimentary level dwindle. We sent 483 surveys2 to Midwest farmers3 who own computers.