Report shows more US farmers relying on Internet

Think of farms and images of tractors and combines come to mind. But what about laptops, smart phones and tablets? The number of farmers with Internet access on a variety of digital gadgets has dramatically increased, changing the way farms do business.

Farmers say they're increasingly using the Net to speed up their work flow, improve their farming techniques, market their crops, connect with customers and retailers, and fulfill a variety of regulatory requirements. Within the past decade, the number of farms with an Internet connection has increased by nearly 20 percentage points, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this month. More than half of America's farms now have access to the Internet, with farmers in the West with the highest access.