GLENWOOD, Minn. -- A new report showed farmers in the U.S. need better broadband and in more places, including their home offices, in their fields and their communities.

Needs range from faster upload and download speeds, better data about available networks, and scalable networks that can be updated as needs grow and change.

The report from the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society showed how broadband also is key to sustainable farming.

Jordan Arnold, research association at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society and the report's author, said connected technologies allow farmers to measure their inputs and outputs, creating opportunities for more efficient resource management.

"One study finds that precision agriculture improves fertilizer placement efficiency by 7%. And it could improve fertilizer efficiency by another 14% with wider adoption," Arnold reported. "And so, we see broadband as key to sustainability."

She added all farms are small businesses, and in addition to farming technology, require the ability to make quick real-time decisions about their products. In 2019, a United Soybean Board study found 60% of ranchers and farmers did not feel they had the connectivity to properly run their business.

Suzanne Vold, a dairy farmer at Dorrich Dairy in Glenwood, said broadband is critical for many of her farm's software-based operations, from the composting system that recycles its manure, to the robots that milk the cows.

Vold noted if there is a problem with one of the robots, she is alerted with a call over an Internet phone line. She added they have battery backups, but need more reliable connectivity.

"Our cows get milked 24/7 around the clock by those robots," Vold explained. "And when things back up, then we not only have equipment problems, but could have animal health problems, and our cows' health is the most important thing to us."

The report includes recommendations from adopting high-performance standards and comprehensive state broadband plans, to ensuring broadband maps have mobile coverage on farmland.

Vold echoed the last recommendation, emphasizing it is important for people to know who has full access, and partial or no access. She sees the internet infrastructure as just as important as road infrastructure.

"Build to last, because rural areas, just like any areas in our country, none of our municipalities have money to spare in times like this," Vold urged. "If we put in band-aids to make quick fixes, then in a few years, we may find ourselves having to do that again."

On Tuesday, 20 Colorado officials sent a letter to the state's congressional delegation protesting six cuts to public lands management in the new tax and spending bill signed into law by President Donald Trump.

John Clark, mayor of Ridgway, said the elimination of river and climate data programs, which are essential to managing the Colorado River Basin and forecasting drought, will put additional burdens on food producers.

"If our farmers and ranchers don't have accurate data about exactly what the situation is with the snow pack and what's happening with the climate, how can they be prepared for each growing season?" Clark asked.

Five active wildfires have burned more than 22,000 acres on Colorado's Western Slope. The letter urged state representatives to reject any additional cuts to the U.S. Forest Service's Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program or other mitigation efforts. Republicans have argued cutting the size of government is necessary to eliminate waste, fraud and expenditures they claim are unsustainable.

Officials are also calling out a provision in the new law they believe undermines local decision-making by forcing oil and gas leasing on public lands. In addition, the law creates new barriers for clean energy leases on public lands, a move Clark worries will lead to the loss of good-paying jobs.

"If we discourage clean energy on public lands, that's going to severely impact our alternative energy workforce," Clark pointed out. "If we can't do wind and solar on public lands, it disincentivizes clean energy all across the state."

Officials are also asking members of Congress to fully fund the National Park Service to ensure proper staffing and maintenance. Clark argued standing up for lands owned by all Americans is essential to preserving Colorado's iconic natural landscapes and rural economies.

"Our economy is hugely dependent on people coming in to visit us and eat at our restaurants and experience these beautiful outdoor environments," Clark emphasized.


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A Wisconsin nonprofit is working with farmers in Southeast Wisconsin to educate communities about the importance of agroforestry, with plans to establish its first urban site in Milwaukee.

The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute has planted more than 400 trees across three sites this year, in partnership with the Savannah Institute. The sites include a community garden and two farms.

Iris Lee, owner of Lee Hemp Farms in Burlington, said agroforestry collaboration is breathing life back into her nearly 50-year-old organic family farm.

"You plant and design things that go together," Lee explained. "That will help not only humans but the animals and nature and bugs."

Agroforestry integrates trees, shrubs and perennial plants into crop and livestock systems. Lee noted one of the project's goals is to raise awareness of the practices and their larger connection to food systems, climate change and communities. The sites will also be used for educational demonstrations.

Community members and project participants helped Lee plant a trail of more than 100 trees in April, from hazelnut and elderberry, to Juneberry and pawpaw trees. They have already grown two to three feet, and she anticipates the berry trees will yield results first. Lee added she even loves talking to her trees and emphasized the physical and mental health benefits of agroforestry.

"Growing something is therapeutic," Lee observed. "To be one with nature -- meaning you know where things come from that you put in your body -- anybody that is concerned about the food and their health, to grow something is to build upon a better human being."

Nolan Burkard, research technician for the nonprofit Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, said diversifying food systems in this way is a growing area of interest for small farmers. Through agroforestry, they can also improve soil health and local climate resilience.

Burkard emphasized it requires long-term investment to get there.

"It takes quite a while for trees to grow up and start fruiting or provide their benefit," Burkard acknowledged. "That's why this project is so important because it is such an investment to plant trees."

Burkard added the institute is accepting applications until July 26 for an urban site in Milwaukee. The selected site will receive $15,000 and planning support to aid in designing it.

Despite the elimination of a handful of alternative energy tax incentives in the new federal budget, Iowa corn farmers will benefit from one that was extended.

Tax breaks and rebates encouraging investment in solar and wind power in Iowa were eliminated in the federal spending plan. However, the Trump administration extended an incentive enabling farmers in Iowa to produce more corn. The Hawkeye State is the nation's top corn producer, much of which is used to produce ethanol.

Chris Bliley, senior vice president of regulatory affairs for the biofuel trade organization Growth Energy, said grain-based fuels burn cleaner and are more environmentally friendly.

"The credit actually goes for production of lower carbon fuels that are used for transportation," Bliley explained. "It includes on-road fuels as well as sustainable aviation fuel. And so, the lower in carbon, the higher the credit."

The Trump administration has made efforts to extract more fossil fuels, which it said will move the U.S. toward energy independence.

Lawmakers in Iowa and neighboring Midwest states have introduced their own tax incentives for biodegradable jet fuel, which Bliley noted will create economic benefits for ag producers.

"To remain competitive, plants in Iowa and Nebraska and throughout the Midwest are investing in some of these key projects to lower their carbon intensity," Bliley observed.

The commercial airline industry is aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to the International Air Transport Association, which could continue to benefit Iowa farmers who provide corn for ethanol production.


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