FARM-SPECIFIC INFORMATION PREFERENCES OF MARKET-ORIENTED FARMS IN NATAL (SOUTH-AFRICA)

In a postal survey conducted among 199 commercial farmers in Natal dur ing :1993, sources and costs of information were studied. Respondents in the survey indicated that the most important source of information was own farm records/budgets. This source was ranked highest for produ ction, marketing and financial decisions by respondents from all regio ns in the province. Respondents spent an average of R 3504 per year on information sources. Keeping own farm records and preparing budgets w as the most time consuming activity while it had the second highest ex penditure of all the information sources. The greatest expenditure was on tax preparers/accountants which contributed 44 percent to the tota l information costs. Discriminant analyses showed that various sources of information were rated differently by farmers depending on region and farm size.