submitted by - Carrie DeLeon, carrie.deleon@wolterskluwer.com

 

NEW YORK -- The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Telecommunications Committee this morning hosted a panel of experts in agriculture who discussed the necessity of rural broadband in agriculture and how it’s being used to increase the world’s food supply.

 

During the discussion, which was part of NARUC’s summer committee meetings being held here this week, panelists considered how the limitation of broadband in rural areas is affecting production on U.S. farms. Panelists pointed out that increased food production is critical to not only the United States, but to the world as well since the U.S. exports a large amount of the food it produces. More than one panelist was quick to point out that more food will be needed in the next 50 years than was needed in the last 10,000 years.

 

Farmers are using advancements in technology to help manage their crops more effectively and efficiently, said Commissioner Chris Nelson, a member of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission and chair of NARUC’s Telecommunications Committee.  Commissioner Nelson, who referred to himself as a full-time regulator and a part-time cattle rancher, said that better broadband access is needed to assist those in agriculture to provide the ever increasing amounts of food that is needed.  The burden “rests on American agriculture to produce the food that’s going to be needed,” he said.

 

Farmers are using computer devices to map fields and using technology in other ways to maximize production.  Commissioner Nelson noted that farming has a huge impact on the U.S. economy and contributes $789 billion, or 4.7%, of the county’s GDP. Agriculture also has a $39 billion trade surplus, he noted.

 

And while the panelists agreed that utilizing the newest technology is necessary for farms to continue to increase production, Brian Thomason, chief executive officer of Kansas-based Blue Valley Tele-Communications, pointed out [that farmers he visited with claim] only 10% of farms are fully utilizing the technology that’s available to them today.

 

“Farmers need broadband not just to be successful, but to survive,” Mr. Thomason said.

 

Farmers in Kansas and across the country are using broadband for soil mapping so they can plant the right amount of seeds and use the right amount of fertilizer, GPS systems for precision farming, as well as for irrigation and grain-bin monitoring, Mr. Thomason said.

 

But there are certain limitations preventing farmers from fully utilizing the technology. Cost is one limiting factor.  Only one in four farms produce revenues in excess of $50,000 a year, according to Mr. Thomason.  And in 2007, only 45% of farmers were considered full time, he said.  Some farmers are using the local library to get the data they need where a higher broadband speed is available, he said.

 

While cost may be a prohibiting factor in adopting technology, broadband can also be used to strengthen a “very thin profit margin,” Mr. Thomason pointed out.

 

Robert Goodling, extension associate at Penn State University extension, noted that in Pennsylvania, only about 45% of farms are using a computer for their farm business.  One limiting factor in Pennsylvania is the access to broadband, while the other, he believes, is the age of the farmers.  The average age of a dairy farmer in Pennsylvania is 65, he said.  The other issue is that most farms in the state are small and are unable to adopt the new technologies. Regardless of the limits, it’s essential to help farmers adopt the new technologies and use them for their benefit, he said.

 

“Broadband is vital for these producers to stay in business because it allows them to produce a higher quality product at a lower cost,” Mr. Goodling said.

 

Broadband is the backbone to the newer tools farmers are using. It connects the producer to education and services he may not otherwise have access to, Mr. Goodling further noted.  It’s important, he said, to engage farmers in remote areas who can’t get away from the farm to benefit from the technology and the efficiencies and pass that along to consumers.

 

Charles Hibberd, dean and director of extension at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, also said that “data-driven” agriculture is becoming more prevalent in Nebraska, where farmers produce beef, pork, corn, and soybeans.  He pointed out that a large amount of advance planning goes into farming now and farmers are need the data to make decisions and produce crops more efficiently.