Project looks to increase broadband access for Illinois farmers

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[December 19, 2022]  Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Lack of broadband access and slow internet speeds keep Illinois corn and soybean farmers from higher productivity. A new initiative seeks to improve that.

 

 

Adrianne Furniss, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, said economic development is suffering in rural communities.

“The story we hear in Illinois rural counties is that outside of the county seat, broadband is pretty lousy,” Furniss said.

Precision agricultural tools like sensors for water management depend on broadband for implementation, Furniss said.

“The kind of investments that farmers are making in equipment … the kind of sensors that would help them get real time data that can help them make decisions … are not possible without robust broadband,” Furniss said.

The Illinois Soybean Association has partnered with the Benton Institute, Illinois State University, the Illinois Office of Broadband, the University of Illinois Extension and the Illinois Innovation Network to create a new initiative called Broadband Breakthrough: Infrastructure Planning for Rural Farming Communities.

Broadband Breakthrough was designed by a research team from the ISU Department of Geography, Geology and Environment in collaboration with ISA, Benton and the other partners.

The first cohort of Broadband Breakthrough, underwritten by the United Soybean Board, will focus on five rural communities from a pool of 14 eligible counties: Bond, Christian, Clinton, Edgar, Hancock, Henry, Iroquois, Kankakee, LaSalle, Macoupin, McLean, Ogle, Washington and Wayne.

The Broadband Breakthrough Planning Tool can help farmers and communities leverage broadband funding allocated in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

 

 

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