 |
| CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT ISSUE |
 |
| Best of NAMA 2025 |
|
 |
|
2022 CENSUS OF AG FINDS 22% OF FARMERS STILL DON'T HAVE INTERNET ACCESS
Aug. 15, 2024
Source: Oklahoma Farm Report radio network
Internet access for producers has seen modest improvements from 2017 to 2022 based on U.S. Census data (Table 1; Figure 1). Across the U.S., the percentage of farm operations or operator residences with internet access increased from 75.4% in 2017 to 78.7% in 2022.
While many of the southeastern states still lag behind the U.S. average, most of the states had significant increases in producers' internet access over this time period. Of the 14 southeastern states examined, 10 had a higher percentage increase than the U.S. average. Arkansas had the highest increase of 8.3%, followed by Louisiana with an increase of 7.5%, and then Mississippi with an increase of 7.3%.
Even so, there is still a surprisingly large number of producers, 21.3%, who do not have access to the internet. This is important for government agencies and universities to understand and make sure that the information they provide is available to all producers.
It should be noted that simply having access to the internet does not necessarily mean that the internet is reliable or has the speed to be effective for producers. For the measure described here, internet access can be obtained through 1) a Cellular data plan, 2) Satellite Internet, 3) Broadband (high-speed) Internet service such as cable, fiber optic, or DSL service, or 4) Dial-up Internet.
Some of these options are not adequate to use for precision agriculture. The FCC's Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States recommends a minimum performance of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload to support precision agriculture. The percentage of farmers who have internet that can actually support precision ag technologies would be considerably less than that described above.
To read the entire report click here.
|
|
|
|
|
