WGA urges National Agricultural Statistics Service to increase focus on ‘robust’ rural broadband in upcoming census

WGA shared Western Governors’ policy on the need for "robust broadband connectivity" for advanced agriculture technologies in comments to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on the design of the 2022 Census of Agriculture. "The 2017 Census collected information regarding agricultural producers’ internet access, and deemed cable, digital subscriber line, fiber-optic and satellite technologies to be 'high-speed,' " noted the letter of April 21, 2021, signed by WGA Executive Director Jim Ogsbury. "While the exact speeds that a producer experiences with these technologies is difficult to ascertain," the outreach continued, "it is unlikely that certain technologies would support the effective integration of many precision agriculture technologies. Western Governors encourage NASS to solicit information on whether producers’ current internet connectivity could support the use of advanced, data-intensive technologies." Read, download the letter 


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