By WJBC Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Farm Bureau Federation is backing legislation to help farmers obtain broadband internet to do their jobs effectively.
R.J. Karney, senior director of congressional relations at American Farm Bureau Federation, said Wall Street businesses would never be asked to operate without broadband connectivity. Karney said the task force the legislation creates will help close gaps in connectivity between rural and urban areas.
“This task force is going to propose policy recommendations to help promote the deployment of fixed and mobile broadband across 95 percent of cropland and ranchland in the United States by 2025,” Karney said. “There’s currently no data available to know how much cropland and ranchland currently has broadband capability, so that’s what this task force will focus on–where are the gaps.”
The Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018 is designed to deliver broadband service which is crucial for operating today’s farming equipment. Karney said the legislation would increase farmers’ efficiency in producing the world’s most affordable food supply.
Karney says the Farm Bureau is determining the next steps to move the measure forward.
“The hope is to find a bill this might be attached to,” Karney explained. “That may be SEC reauthorization bill, that could also be within the Senate farm bill when those discussions occur.”
