Agricultural software : a case study of feed and animal information systems in the New Zealand dairy industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Masters of AgriCommerce at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

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dc.contributor.authorHammond, Hamish
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-09T20:31:30Z
dc.date.available2018-01-09T20:31:30Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractEvery farmer utilises agricultural software, either directly or indirectly, as part of feed and animal information systems (IS) used for decision making and compliance on New Zealand (NZ) dairy farms. With continued development and availability of advanced information and communication technologies (ICT), more farmers are using software in their IS. This study investigates: how NZ dairy farmers use agricultural software in their feed and animal IS; the software attributes that influence the use and impact of these software; and, the drivers and inhibitors of software use and impact. A case study research approach was used to investigate these questions. Evidence was collected using semi-structured interviews with six NZ dairy farmers with farms of different scale and ownership structure, and with five commercial agricultural software providers. Results show that feed and animal IS are particularly useful for farmer decision making and compliance at the operational and tactical management levels, but also produce data and information critical for strategic management. The number of software products used and the degree of data and information collation in animal IS compared to feed IS are considerably different. Animal IS were streamlined, with data and information collected and collated together in a limited number of software with only one or two ‘focal’ software as the centrepiece of the IS. In contrast, feed IS were less streamlined, with data and information flowing into a number of different software. Six important software attributes that influence use and impact of software were identified by farmers and providers, with ‘simplicity’ and, ‘integration with software and hardware’, the most highly recognised attributes. The delivery of software with these attributes was achieved by providers in a number of instances, however, other software failed to fully meet farmer needs. Organisational and people drivers/inhibitors had a greater effect on software use and impact than technological drivers/inhibitors indicating that these IS dimensions should be the focus of future improvements.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/12501
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectDairy farmingen_US
dc.subjectFarm managementen_US
dc.subjectData processingen_US
dc.subjectInformation storage and retrieval systemsen_US
dc.subjectAgricultureen_US
dc.subjectResearch Subject Categories::FORESTRY, AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES and LANDSCAPE PLANNING::Animal production::Animal nutrition and managementen_US
dc.subjectInformation systemsen_US
dc.subjectDecision makingen_US
dc.subjectComplianceen_US
dc.subjectInformation and communication technologyen_US
dc.subjectAgricultural softwareen_US
dc.titleAgricultural software : a case study of feed and animal information systems in the New Zealand dairy industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Masters of AgriCommerce at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealanden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorHammond, Hamish
thesis.degree.disciplineAgriCommerceen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of AgriCommerce (MAgriCommerce)en_US
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