Getting down to business on the farm can be quicker and more effective through the use of the Internet. Finding replacement parts for equipment, accessing the latest market information, catching up on the day's news and communicating with others can be done in the blink of an eye with computer technology.

The number of farmers and ranchers who use computers and the Internet continues to rise. An Agriculture Department report shows that 43 percent of America's farmers and ranchers are online, compared to only 13 percent in 1997. General on-the-farm use of computers has grown to 55 percent, up from 38 percent in 1997.

With Christmas coming, some of those not yet hooked up may have a new computer topping their wish lists. To novice and seasoned computer users alike, the vast wealth of information the Internet provides can seem rather daunting.

A user can start at the American Farm Bureau Federation site, www.fb.org, and go virtually anywhere. A comprehensive list of agricultural Web sites awaits under the "Ag Links" button on the left side of the AFBF home page. The alphabetical list of categories starts with associations and ends with weather, with everything from Extension Services to politics in between. The links page is up-to-date and modified constantly.

USDA reports that 24 percent of farms and ranches last year used the Internet as a management tool in their operations and accounted for $665 million in online purchases and sales. For example, when searching for replacement parts for equipment, users can access the Web to locate hard-to-find parts, and even save money.

AFBF President Bob Stallman is an avid Internet user, and pointed out how helpful online shopping for the farm can be. Stallman said he saved hundreds of dollars by buying a replacement part for an old front-end loader online rather than buying the exact part from a traditional equipment outlet.

Grainger Industrial Supply sponsors a link on the Farm Bureau site. At www.grainger.com users can browse by category for a number of maintenance, repair and operating supplies from a virtually endless selection. Farm Bureau members receive a 10 percent discount on most Grainger catalog items.

And online shopping will continue to be tax-free. President Bush in late November signed into law a two-year extension of the ban on Internet-related taxes.

In case they miss the market report on television news broadcasts or want more up-to-date numbers than those in the day's newspaper, Internet users can go online to get the reports, often only minutes old. ACRES, a subscription service available to Farm Bureau members at www.acres.fb.com, offers agricultural marketing information that features futures and option prices from all the U.S. commodity exchanges, including intra-day, daily, weekly and monthly charting. ACRES also has local, state, national and international agricultural news; expert market commentary; animated weather maps; and USDA and local cash market reports. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange provides its price information in a variety of formats, including real-time, delayed, flash, end-of-day and historical at www.cme.com.

E-mail yields instant communication and provides a platform for sharing documents, photos and links to Web sites. Stallman said of e-mail, "It's fantastic what you can do now that you couldn't do 10 years ago. The ease of communication is tremendous." But be wary of using e-mail for certain types of correspondence. An electronic message often does not have the impact of a mailed letter, for example, when communicating with a member of Congress.

Most e-mail accounts can be accessed from any computer via the Internet. With that in mind, this year's AFBF annual meeting will feature the Cyber Caf, a computer room that provides Farm Bureau members with access to e-mail, as well as market updates and agricultural news. Members can stay connected, even when away from home.

The preceding information and following list of agricultural Web sites merely touch upon the limitless abundance of information that's out there. Set aside some time to take a journey and explore.