Farm Computer News Closes; Slumping Revenues Blamed

Meredith Corp. on Monday suspended publication of the Farm Computer News, citing slumping advertising revenues because of a shakeout in the computer industry.

The bimonthly magazine specializing in new farm technology was launched in January 1985 as a 100-page publication aimed at farmers who use computers.

In 18 months of operations, the initial base of 10,000 paid subscribers rose by 80%, Meredith said.

But the publisher, Jim Cornick, said retrenchments in the computer industry at a time when farmers were having economic difficulties made it unlikely that the magazine would show a profit for several more years.

The first issue had 57 pages of advertisements from 65 companies, but recent issues had dropped to 15 to 20 pages of advertising from fewer than two dozen companies, he said.

Cornick said he remains convinced that computers will become the fundamental management tool for American farmers, but acknowledged that expectations for the growth of personal computer use were overly optimistic.

Meredith has no plans of selling the publication and intends to keep the trademark registered and to hold on to the subscription list, Cornick said. If the agricultural computer business rebounds, the company will reassess its decision to suspend publication, he said.