Recently the Daily Yonder published an article from Craig Settles on RS Fiber and the impact their wireless (25 Mbps symmetrical) service has had on one local farmer…

“I can download the maps from a cloud-based app to my iPad and desktop or access data on the cloud through a web browser that lets me determine the state of our planting and monitoring crops harvesting,” Rieke says. “Using a second iPad, we can log into the planter or combine and view a live stream of what’s happening at that moment.”

Broadband is also part of the automated security system at Rieke’s hog barns. And broadband allows him to collect and transmit planting and harvest data to improve productivity and get the most out of his inputs like fertilizer.  …

Besides mapping data with his on-the-ground machinery, Rieke says he can rent drones and cameras capable of providing general crop health.

“On a 40-acre field, I will pull about 20 grid points, which equates to about 300 soil cores,” he said. “I then input the data from these 20 grid points in an app that program creates soil maps. The harvest maps are created using GPS and sensors in the combine.”

For additional vital data, Rieke’s crop consultant flies over the fields to take pictures or videos, and uploads the content to a cloud storage system for Rieke to access later.

As Settles points out – it makes a case for rural broadband, even in farming areas that tend to have low population densities.