Underscoring the need for high-speed broadband access for farmers and ranchers, this year’s Farmfest will feature Minnesota’s first Rural Broadband Day. This news release from Farm Bureau says the farm show’s opening on August 4 in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, makes the case to the public that with the rise of precision technology in agriculture, producers need the broadband to increase their efficiency, communicate with their customers and reach new markets around the world.
“Minnesota Farmfest is the perfect platform for discussion about rural broadband,” said Ray Bianchi, senior director of expositions and events for the American Farm Bureau Federation and IDEAg Group. “Farmfest has been produced for the past 30 years and our event has grown because of the commitment of farmers to the latest innovations in seeds, equipment and technology. Broadband is an essential part of this complex of new ideas.”
The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband will kick off the day. The task force is committed to crafting policies that expand broadband access throughout the state to ensure that all communities, businesses and citizens have access to vital resources.
“Broadband Internet, like the interstate highway system of the 1950s or the railroads of the 1880s, is the backbone of today’s economy, helping expand opportunity and improve our quality of life. Expanding access to broadband is crucial for expanding opportunity for all,” said Margaret Anderson Kelliher, president and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association and current chair of the Governor’s Taskforce on Broadband. “As Minnesota looks to maintain a growing, competitive economy, and a high quality of life, we must continue to make progress to ensure that the state has access to broadband, from border to border. Rural Broadband Day is a great venue to highlight the progress that we’re making and look forward to the future of broadband.”
Farm Bureau officials went on to say this effort is just part of the group’s larger work to strengthen rural communities.