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The Farm Level Effects of Better Access to Information: The Case of Dart

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Darrell J. Bosch  and
Katherine L. Lee
Darrell J. Bosch
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Katherine L. Lee
Affiliation:
Animal Breeding Services, Holstein Association
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Abstract

In this study, two methods of entering and accessing dairy herd records are compared: the traditional mail-in Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) system and the Direct Access to Records by Telephone (DART) system, which provides more timely and convenient access to records. An evaluation of DART was carried out using mail survey responses from 117 DART users and telephone surveys of 40 randomly selected users. Results indicate that DART users are generally satisfied with the system and feel that it improves their herd management. Variations in use of the DART system by DART users are explained by herd, cost, and management variables. DART users and comparable non-DART, DHI users are compared with respect to gains in herd production efficiency. Results indicate that DART users made somewhat better gains in most efficiency measures but that the differences were generally not statistically significant.

Keywords

Dairy Herd Improvement Associationdairy recordsmicrocomputerssurveyvalue of information
Type
Submitted Articles
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , December 1988 , pp. 109 - 118
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1988

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