"The modern No 8 wire is data"

The NZ Herald has a piece on some ways the internet and other information technologies are allowing farmers to accelerate and fine tune their response to the market.
Connecting the clever farm

From an armchair in South Canterbury, he can follow a wool auction in Melbourne via satellite and track the prices other growers are getting for their lots.
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"If we think the market is where we want it, I send an email through to the selling company and off we go."
This level of connectivity and the ability of farmers to access real-time information is becoming the lifeblood of agriculture in the 21st century.
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"The modern No 8 wire is data and how it can be converted into meaningful information, how it can be twisted and bent and used," Walker said.

Donald Aubrey who is the main speaker in the article is Vice President of Federated Farmers, and a quick google on his name will turn up some of the other things he has to say on the matter.