Broadband access is still a big issue for many farms, according to statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Less than one-third of farmers own a smartphone, while 14% of farms still do not have access to a computer.

The data, drawn from the department's 2012 farm practices survey and its farm business survey, highlights a nationwide problem.

Although the proportion of farms with access to a computer has increased in recent years, up from 74% in 2008 to 86% in 2012, there is still a significant number who don't have access to one.

David Collier, chief rural affairs adviser at the National Farmers Union (NFU), said the figures matched the union's own survey.

However, he claimed the Government's desire to drive farmers online had to be tempered with the fact some would struggle to get access to the internet.

"We are told we will have to do more and more online in the next two years for things such as Single Payment Scheme applications," he told the Farmers Guardian.

"The problem is not all people have the ability to do this because they are so remote or cannot access the internet. We need to keep options open for them."

Of the computers owned by farmers, 98% had access to the internet - although 6% were still using a dial up connection.

Some 60% were using broadband under two megabits per second (Mbps) to connect to the World Wide Web, with a further 30% using broadband of 3Mbps or more.

Submitting forms and internet banking were found to be the main reasons for using computers on farms, with 87% of farmers using them for such purposes.

John Hyslop, surveyor in Strutt & Parker's Morpeth office, said: "Farmers increasingly need to conduct more and more of their affairs using the internet if they are not to be left behind by their competitors. However, in many cases, the rural broadband resources are simply inadequate for their purposes.

"The Government has an ambition to transform broadband in the UK by 2015 and has allocated £520 million in the current spending review. However, the process has so far been delayed and has been widely criticised, dogged by an EU probe and a questionable procurement process.

"The intention, ultimately, is to deliver at least a minimum speed of 2Mps to the most extreme rural areas. This is generally considered a comparatively slow speed by present standards. Given the increasingly insatiable appetite of modern online technologies, delayed delivery of a limited broadband offering may do little to relieve long-suffering rural broadband users. 'Superfast' speeds may not reach those in some rural areas until 2020, if at all.

"The Rural Broadband Community Fund (RBCF) offers some assistance in bolstering investment in local projects. However, with just £20 million set aside, the overall effect may be limited."