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Rural broadband expansion a concern on local and national levels

Getting efficient broadband access to all farmers is a priority on a local and national level.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall tells Brownfield as he views the new equipment and technology at the farm progress show, he can’t help but think of the farmers who lack the internet access to use them.

“Broadband is not a luxury anymore. It is a necessity.”

Matt Johnson with Shawnee Communications in Illinois says they recently installed fiber internet to a local grain elevator and that customer quickly experienced the advantages.

“It helped the director of the elevator connect into the Chicago Board of Trade and be able to make trades in real time. He was able to secure prices for his customers quicker and more securely.”

Not only does lack of internet access prevent farmers from staying up to date withe technology, but Duvall says it puts the future of agriculture at risk because young people won’t want to come back to communities without sufficient internet.

Johnson says with funding from the FCC and USDA, the goal is to provide nationwide access to 25 megabit download and 3 megabit upload speeds in the next five to ten years, which he says will be a significant improvement for many rural areas.

Brownfield interviewed Duvall and Johnson at the 2019 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois.