Agriculture Community Pulling for LPTVs

Several agriculture and conservation organizations are urging the Federal Communications Commission to hold a public hearing about the impact an incentive auction could have on low-power television stations that provide programming for rural America.

Eight groups -- including the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the National Farmers Union -- expressed their concerns about potentially losing over-the-air television once the auction and subsequent channel repack take place. “In rural and mountainous areas, local broadcast television is often the only communications infrastructure that connects our communities. Over-the-air broadcast television often serves as our lifeline — connecting farmers, ranchers and growers to more populated areas. Our members rely heavily on broadcast television for local public affairs programming, news, weather and emergency information,” they said in a letter to the FCC, and the House and Senate Commerce Committees.