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AgBroadbandNow

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Broadband Accessibility and Adoption for Missouri’s Agricultural Community

MoBroadbandNow wants to hear from the agriculture and agribusiness communities on broadband needs.  To be successful, we have created an online survey to better understand how farmers, ranchers, breeders, and producers use broadband and how faster service can strengthen the agriculture industry.  Survey responses will be used to assist MoBroadbandNow and private providers to expand and enhance broadband accessability in many underserved and unserved communities.

Agriculture Broadband in the News

University of Missouri’s Agricultural Broadband Study

Review the study conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia

Read the news release sent out by the University of Missouri-Columbia regarding the study

Broadband in Missouri

  • Approximately 61 percent of Missouri communities with 10,000 households or less and 52 percent of Missouri communities with 5,000 households or less have broadband accessibility.
  • Among the 79 percent of Missourians with broadband accessibility,only 52 percent are active subscribers.
  • The majority of Missouri farms, ranches, production centers and processing operations are located in low density areas that include unserved or underserved broadband communities.  Unserved means no broadband provider is available and underserved means only one broadband provider is available.
  • Governor Jeremiah (Jay) Nixon established MoBroadbandNow, a public-private initiative, with the goal of providing broadband accessibility to at least 95 percent of Missourians by the end of 2014.

Agriculture in Missouri

  • Missouri is a leader in agriculture and agribusiness with over $8.3 billion in cash receipts for 2010.
  • Missouri has the second highest number of farms in the nation with over 100,000 individual farms and nearly 30 million acres.
  • Among Missouri’s livestock inventory the state holds over four million head of cattle, three million head of hogs and 30 million poultry and produces over 175 million gallons of milk.
  • Among Missouri’s crop inventory, the state produces over 375 million bushels of corn, 200 million bushels of soybeans and 32 million pounds of apples.

Broadband Accessibility for Missouri’s Farmers

  • Expanding and enhancing broadband accessibility, adoption, affordability, choice, speed and usage has the potential to transform Missouri.
  • Broadband allows Missouri to compete globally, create jobs, stimulate the economy, promote investment, increase efficiency and improve the quality-of-life.
  • Missouri’s agricultural industry will have a direct benefit from greater broadband availability and better technology including:
    • marketing and selling products directly to consumers
    • trading commodities in “real-time”
    • accessing market information
    • purchasing equipment and supplies
    • managing inventory and storing data
    • monitoring weather and applications
    • reducing energy and water consumption

      Missouri’s agricultural industry will benefit directly from greater broadband availability and better technology, which will allow direct marketing to consumers, real time access to market information and efficient management of supplies and data, among other benefits.