EuroAgriNet specializes in Internet services to the agricultural industry. We at EuroAgriNet wish to provide a completely open information service which anyone can use across the agricultural industry at no extra cost to the user.
Keeping agricultural web servers open for everyone to use has a number of advantages over the closed systems of other farm Internet services.
Firstly, farmers can join any Internet Access Provider (IAP) to gain access to the whole of the Internet. This leaves farmers the choice of provider regarding the services they supply and the prices they charge. Some service providers are expensive after a given amount of time on-line per day or per month, others have a flat rate and you can spend as much time on-line as you like. Importantly, retaining a choice of IAP keeps the market competitive and so keeps prices down. On the other hand, if all the farmers in the UK use one IAP, the market is unlikely to be competitive.
Secondly, most agriculturalists, advisors, academics and private companies are already on the Internet. As such, these people cannot contribute to a private agricultural forum which excludes non-members. Where these discussion forums are open to anyone (as they are in the United States), there is more scope for information exchange between different areas of the industry. EuroAgriNet aims to provide these open discussion forums, and such "electronic coffee shops" are regarded as one of the most important benefits of the Internet for farmers. Take a look at @griculture On-line in the USA to see the use that American farmers get out of their electronic coffee-shops. These farmers are not limited to one Internet Access Provider to use these services.
Thirdly, there is always going to be more useful information on the whole of the Internet than in any one (private or open) web site. The existing Internet technology is so user friendly that it is easy to find what is required, be it a satellite photograph, a weather chart or a dairy management program. All these things are available on the Internet for free and there is absolutely no need to pay an extra cost to anyone for them.
Fourthly, the use of Internet technology will progress to many other areas of the farmers business. It is likely that in the not-so-distant future you will be able to gain a stock movement license through the Internet, keep up-to-date with you're daily position against quota and communicate with buyers and suppliers by e-mail among the many other specialist services to agriculture. EuroAgriNet is actively involved in developing many of these utilities. What you will require is cost effective Internet access to facilitate all of these emerging uses for the technology. Therefore, keeping agricultural web sites open to everyone maintains a wide choice of Internet service providers, which in turn keeps the market competitive and prices down.
These are the arguments for open agricultural web sites and this is why EuroAgriNet is pursuing this course for agricultural Internet use in the UK.
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EuroAgriNet Ltd.
Ayrshire New Venture Centre
Riverside Innovation and Technology Centre
2 Cockburn Place
Riverside Business Park
Irvine
KA11 5DA
Tel 01294 316517
Fax 01563 316505
Updated: 3rd February, 1998
İEuroAgriNet Limited 1998