It pays to think electronically

Howard Emmett and his wife Anne run an arable farm of 500 acres near Porthscatho, as well as an agricultural contacting business and a green waste project. They have always used a computer system but in recent years have found it hard to integrate their old system with the new ways of electronic working that are encouraged by local authorities, the Inland Revenue and Defra.

Howard says:

"Our old PC was very limited in what it could do. We were unable to connect to certain websites and the financial software we used was becoming out of date. We also had a communication problem as our email system didn't always work."

An actnow ICT advisor visited the farm and with their help and guidance, Howard has made some good investments in IT:

"We now have new software for the business called 'Crop Manager' and I have a palm pilot. Now when the agronomist inspects our fields he can email us his recommendations for the land which I can then download onto the palm pilot. When I go out in to the fields I can refer to the agronomists information as I work and record what I do immediately – these updates can then be emailed back to the agronomist if need be. This new function is a great help to us and makes the whole process of managing our land much easier as well as more efficient - for the first time we have been able to keep crop records on computer."

actnow gave the business funding toward back office IT solutions as well - the farm uses 'Farm Business Manager' software which has improved how their finance system runs. It has enabled Anne Emmett to make electronic payments via BACs which links into their electronic banking system via the Internet. They are also able to send financial reports and data to their accountant over the internet too.

Anne says:

"Using our broadband connection to manage our business is so convenient. I save time and money by being able to send documents via email and the new software will really help when we take on temporary staff for the harvest. 'Farmplan Ernie '5' Payroll' is a complete payroll package to enable us to complete wages on the computer instead of using a paper system. 'Ernie' helps to streamline PAYE and allows end of year figures to be sent automatically to the Inland Revenue via our broadband connection."

Howard and Anne aren't planning to stop there either - they are currently putting together a proposal for a website that should help promote the agricultural contracting and green waste side of their business.