Deploying Broadband to Rural Farmland Would Pay for Itself with Precision Agriculture

By BroadbandNow

A lack of robust broadband connectivity in rural areas is the chief obstacle to more U.S. farmers adopting precision agriculture technologies, which would transform domestic food production and boost the U.S. economy, writes Kendra Chamberlain at BroadbandNow.

A food crisis is quietly brewing in the U.S. as small farms struggle to keep afloat. More than half of U.S. farm households now lose money each year, while the USDA expects 2019 soybean and corn production, which represents the U.S.’s top two crops, to fall 19% and 4% over 2018 levels, respectively. As the impacts of these developments ripple throughout the economy, technological advancements in farming operations may be able to help.

Research by BroadbandNow entitled Deploying Broadband to Rural Farmland Would Pay for Itself with Precision Agriculture, Boost U.S. Economy by $65B, explores this topic in detail. Key findings include:

Expanding robust broadband service to rural areas would generate $65 billion annually through increased crop yields for farmers, which is more than the deployment cost of $35 to $40 billion.
By 2050, the global population is expected to reach 9.1 billion, and demand for food will be 70% higher than it is currently. Precision agriculture technology can help make up the difference, if implemented sooner rather than later.

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