High-speed Internet can impact rural farming in ways you couldn’t imagine

Agricultural communities are the backbone of the American Economy. Farmers provided over 128.3 billion dollars gross in 2021 to the American economy. 

Rural America is home to the vast majority of farmers therein, making the availability and utilization of high-speed internet to rural America even more critical.

3 Ways High-Speed Internet Can Impact Rural Farming:

• Precision Farming: Like highways, railways and waterways are essential to the rural farmer, to move food, fiber, and even fuel across the country, so is rural internet. With high-speed internet connectivity, farmers can access the latest farming techniques and tips like the right fertilizer to use, making their farming activities more economical, efficient, and eco-friendly.
• Agri-Commerce: High-speed internet is also integral to operating a successful business in this day and age. And that applies to agriculture too. Farmers can follow market trends, gain access to larger markets, and communicate with current and new customers almost instantly, making their businesses more modern and profitable.
• Quality of Life: Everybody needs access to social, economic, commercial, and educational infrastructure, especially rural farmers. Thanks to high-speed internet connectivity, access to these essentials are significantly more effortless and key to improving the quality of life in rural areas.

With high-speed internet increasingly available in rural areas, rural farmers stand a better chance of expanding their businesses and breaking into new marketplaces.

7 Ways For Rural Farmers To Reach More Customers:

• Identifying Customers: utilizing rural internet, farmers can pinpoint their best customers and identify potential new markets to break into. In 
• Standing Out: every business has to have its unique selling position. With rural internet, farmers can discover what makes their product or service unique and communicate it to existing customers and new ones.
• Branding: In today’s market, branding goes a long way in ensuring a successful business. With high-speed internet, resources are available for farmers to create personalized logos, signs, and other commercial materials, making it easier to reach new customers.
• Getting a Website: Every business owner right now needs to be technologically savvy. Also, every business with intentions to grow and break into new markets needs a website to display goods and services a lot more easily.
• Better Advertising: With rural internet, farmers stand a better chance of getting their stuff out there. It is easier to advertise crops and even facilities on the internet, reaching more customers and keeping old ones updated.
• Happy customers are a great way to advertise because they tell just about anyone how great your product is. With high-speed internet connectivity, farmers can provide more hands-on customer service to existing customers, keeping them happy and returning for more.
• Live Streaming: The New York Times reports that rural farmers are turning to create online content in the search for more creative ways to improve customer acquisition and retention. Step in Live streaming. These “farmer influencers,” such as one Morgan Gold from Vermont, record videos of their lives maintaining their farms and taking care of their animals. Gold, who owns a duck farm and earns money selling poultry and eggs, has found that producing a steady stream of YouTube content can net him eight times the monthly revenue than farming for the same period. Playing off of the quirky personalities of his sheepdog and abnormally huge duck and highlighting mishaps that slow his farm’s progress, Gold is capitalizing on our current dark moment.

The world population is estimated to hit 9.7 billion by 2050, requiring an almost 75 percent increase in food production across the globe. This scary statistic makes farmers even more important.

The internet is no longer a luxury but has become a necessity, essential to modern agriculture and farmers, especially those in rural areas of America. With access to high-speed internet, better marketing techniques will ensure a steady stream of customers, and eco-friendly farming techniques will provide a greater yield.