Economic development officials pushed to provide two rural counties with national rankings for high-speed Internet access on farms and have seen great success thanks to aggression.
The development project is for Kearney County, Nebraska and Clay County, Iowa. Developers feel that the broadband access will gives farms in the area a competitive edge.
“We may have someone from Minden, Nebraska, come up with the next Yahoo,” said Lisa Stadler, executive director of the Kearney County Economic Development Agency based in Minden.
According to the 2007 agriculture census, Kearney County, Nebraska ranks seventh among rural counties with the highest percentage of farmers connected to high-speed Internet. 65 percent of Kearney County’s farms are connected to high speed Internet.
Clay County on the other hand ranks 20th with 58 percent of its farms connected to high-speed Internet.
The numbers are most important because they show that rural farms have the opportunity to run modern businesses. The Internet provides not only connection to less rural areas, but it is a gateway to deliver goods and services as well as strike up more business. Farmers mostly rely on it to conduct business that cannot be done face to face.
In comparison to the rest of the country, Kearney County, Nebraska was beat by Nantucket (Mass.), Pitkin (Colorado.), Hood River (Oregon.), and three other ski counties in Colorado.
If you are interested in buying rural land for agriculture, farm loans and ranch loans are available today. Contact a representative at Farm Plus with any questions about farm loans or ranch loans. Interest rates are at historic lows. Call toll free 866-929-5585 or visit online for more information.