28 percent of nation's big farmers have poor or no internet

Among the nation's larger farmers, two out of seven can't effectively access the internet, according to Purdue University's most recent Ag Economy Barometer. "The gap in access exists at the same time the sector is embracing precision agriculture technology such as GPS guidance of tractors and combines," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

The Ag Barometer is a survey of farmers and ranchers with at least $500,000 in production per year. In its February survey, 12 percent said they had no internet access at all, 16% reported a poor-quality connection, 41% reported a moderate-quality connection, and 30% reported a high-quality connection. "Some 82% of farms across the country had internet access in 2021, up from 75% in 2019," Abbott reports. "Half of farms had a broadband connection and 70% used a cellular data plan for access. Two thirds of farms had a desktop or laptop computer and 77% had a smartphone."

Though the rural digital divide has narrowed since 2016, rural adults are still less likely than their suburban or urban peers to have home home broadband or to own a smartphone or computer, the Pew Research Center found. That matters when farms increasingly rely on broadband. According to a 2021 Agriculture Department report, "Half of the farmers in the biggest corn, soybean and wheat states and a quarter of farmers nationwide have embraced precision agriculture," Abbott writes. That includes tech using drones to monitor fields and livestock.

The recently signed infrastructure bill has $65 billion to improve internet services for rural and other underserved areas; most will be distributed to states in grants. "The White House says the USDA will issue a funding opportunity notice this year for nearly $2 billion through its ReConnect program for deployment of rural high-speed internet," Abbott reports.