Take a look at this interesting document from USDA, “Rural Boradband At A Glance 2009 Edition.” It points out how fast farmers are adopting the use of the internet for business purposes and clearly outlines the challenges many areas of the country still have in getting broadband access.

It has a number of interesting graphs like the following one comparing rural vs. urban internet use by income.

Broadband Internet enables businesses to increase efficiencies in existing commercial relationships, increase market presence by reducing the cost of reaching larger markets, and introduce new services. Broadband Internet, however, can also increase competition between businesses (e.g., local banks must compete with Internet-only banks). Business adoption of the Internet has been rapid. In 2005, 30 percent of farmers were using the Internet for farm business; 2 years later, use had increased to 63 percent. As Internet adoption increases, the need for high-speed Internet also rises as online purchasing and marketing become the norm. Rural businesses, however, use broadband less than urban businesses, perhaps due to higher prices for rural broadband service.