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Bloomberg: Trump’s Rural Broadband Plan is Essential for Agriculture

Kim Baker

Director, Digital Initiatives

photo credit: AFBF Photo, Morgan Walker

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s RJ Karney was quoted in a Bloomberg article about President Trump’s plan for rural broadband. While Bloomberg explained how difficult the plan is to achieve, it noted how important rural broadband is to the daily operations of farmers and ranchers. Without broadband, farmers could “potentially lose days of planting and harvesting. They also can’t get real-time data on soil and moisture conditions, which can lead to over-applying seeds and fertilizers, raising costs, creating environmental damage and making their farms less profitable and efficient,” explained Bloomberg.

“Without it [broadband], you’re asking farmers and ranchers to operate a viable business without modern technology,’’ said Karney, a director of congressional relations.