Dataset on digital technologies as learning content in farm manager training in Switzerland and willingness to use farm information systems

This article describes the data from an online survey conducted at a farm management course in Switzerland. The survey was conducted in German and French between April and May 2021. It was emailed to teachers and students at agricultural education centres across Switzerland that offer a farm management program. In the first part, the survey investigated whether digital technologies were taught in agricultural training, and, more specifically, in basic training or in the farm management course. Next, it investigated teachers’ and students’ general perceptions of digital technologies in plant production and animal husbandry. The survey further included questions about information sources individuals use to learn more about digital technologies in agriculture. In a subsequent part, students who already owned or co-owned a farm were asked whether they use a farm management information system and were planning to use more digital technologies in the future. For this, we used three items investigating perceived ease of use, which were derived from a previous study and four items using a trans-theoretical model of adoption. Finally, all participants provided basic sociodemographic data and answered items related to environmental concern, based on an existing scale. The survey can be used and adapted to different contents, aiming to investigate perception and adoption of farm management information systems and study the course content, how individuals acquire knowledge or how they perceive digital technologies.