Taking It Personally

Taking It Personally

SCOTT GAFFNER | MARKET DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR | ILLINOIS SOYBEAN BOARD

Innovation has long been a hallmark of American agriculture. American farmers have continuously adapted their operations to meet new demands and stay competitive in an increasingly globalized economy. But today, rural communities and farmers are experiencing one of the most significant disadvantages of all: the lack of connectivity.

When our cell phones get better service than our computers, that is a problem. If we want our farmers and rural communities to remain competitive, solid broadband infrastructure is an essential investment for current and future generations. Reliable internet access is something that everybody needs.

I know first-hand the frustration of not having reliable internet service in my rural home. It led me to start my own internet service provider company. I have used this opportunity to reach my rural neighbors and farmers with a reliable service to enhance their standard of living. I know it is only viable for some to start a company, that is why ISA is dedicated to helping provide Illinois counties with the tools they need to allow every soybean producer an opportunity to obtain reliable internet services.

Broadband is necessary to innovate farming practices, allowing for more targeted and efficient resource use. Farmers need connectivity in the farmhouse and farm office, in the field, and in the community to enable sustainable, data-driven agriculture and meet the world’s rising demand for food.

Broadband will be critical to increasing sustainability in agriculture. Farmers need data to make efficient decisions about resource management. Connectivity-dependent precision agriculture allows farmers to target pesticide, herbicide, water, and fuel use, saving the farmer money and helping them more diligently care for the environment.

Farms depend on rural communities, and rural communities depend on farms. Broadband can enable new opportunities in agricultural communities, such as remote education, professional development, and telehealth. Rural communities can work with local organizations, including nonprofits, cooperatives, and community-oriented private providers, to find solutions that meet their access and adoption needs.

Broadband is not an end in and of itself; instead, the transformative power of broadband lies in its ability to connect users to solutions. A broadband connection to a rural farm improves farmers’ ability to use precision agriculture. It increases remote training, telemedicine, and social communication opportunities.

The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) and partners are working with a five-county cohort in developing their plans to bring reliable and affordable broadband access to every resident in their respective counties. The five teams are building their county broadband proposals through research by identifying and contacting broadband providers that service other areas of their county and designing and deploying countywide broadband surveys. At the end of their process, they will each have a successfully mappedout broadband blueprint for their county that will be submitted to the state to be approved for state and federal funding.

In the coming weeks, you may receive an email asking you to take a broadband survey and Internet speed test. I implore you to participate in the survey and the speed test as we work together to break through the broadband barrier.

Meeting tomorrow’s challenges means finally acknowledging that high-performance, fiber-based networks is a must-have technology for modern agriculture and rural America. We, as farmers, know what we need for sustainable, data-driven agriculture that can keep pace with the world’s rising food demand. Now it’s time to unite our communities and work together to build the broadband networks needed to feed and fuel the world.