Rural Development (USDA )
The Biden-Harris Administration is taking actions to improve the health of rural communities and help rural health care providers stay open
The Biden-Harris Administration is taking actions to improve the health of rural communities and help rural health care providers stay open. These actions:
President Biden Announces Over $5 Billion to Support Rural Communities
President Joe Biden announced over $5 billion in new investments from his Investing in America agenda—including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act—to advance rural prosperity, economic development, competition, and sustainability. $274 Million to Expand Critical Rural High-Speed Internet Infrastructure: the Department of Agriculture announced nearly $274 million across 16 grant and loan awards to expand access to high-speed internet for people living and working across eight states.
FOCUS Broadband Brings Fiber to Rural North Carolina, Grant by Grant
In the past five years, FOCUS Broadband has gone from deploying fiber connectivity to just two North Carolina counties to eight, nearly doubling its number of customers from 36,000 to 63,000.
TCC Awarded $35 Million Grant to Bring Broadband to Rural Alaskan Villages
The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) was awarded a $35 million grant to install affordable, reliable high-speed fiber broadband in the three underserved TCC village communities of Venetie, Chalkyitsik, and Circle (AK). The project is part of the Alaska FiberOptic Project, which is a larger collaboration between Calista Corporation; Doyon, Limited; Gana-A ‘Yoo Limited; Tanana Chiefs Conference; and Alaska Communications to connect more than 20 communities in the Yukon and Kuskokwim regions, beginning in Fairbanks and extending to the
Technology Use (Farm Computer Usage and Ownership) August 2023
Nationally, 85 percent of farms reported having access to the internet. In 2023, 51 percent of internet-connected farms utilized a broadband connection while 75 percent of internet-connected farms had access through a cellular data plan. Additionally, 69 percent of farms had a desktop or laptop computer while 82 percent of farms had a smartphone. In 2023, 32 percent of farms used the internet to purchase agricultural inputs, which was an increase of 3 percent from 2021.
President Biden Nominates Basil Gooden for USDA Under Secretary of Rural Development
President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Basil Ivanhoe Gooden for Under Secretary of Rural Development in the Department of Agriculture. Gooden currently serves as the Director of State Operations for the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Rural Development. Appointed to this position in July 2021, he is responsible for providing leadership, support, and supervision to the 47 State Directors in USDA Rural Development.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $800 Million to Strengthen Rural Infrastructure and Create Jobs
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $808 million to help rural cooperatives and utilities build and improve electric infrastructure and increase electric grid reliability and security, connecting hundreds of thousands
Some areas of Colorado still don’t have high-speed internet, but new funding could change that
Since the late 1990s Colorado has tried to expand access to high-speed broadband. It’s been done in starts and stops, and sometimes not at all. Now Colorado is getting a huge amount of federal money, more than $826 million in Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding that was part of the 2021 infrastructure law to help expand broadband internet across the state and the country.
Chairwoman Rosenworcel Announces Rechartering of Precision Agriculture Task Force
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the FCC's intent to recharter the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Task Force for its third and final term, calling on the four working groups to examine the impact of connectivity in meeting the production and sustainability challenges facing agricultural and food systems. In addition, Chairwoman Rosenworcel called for representatives from diverse and historically underrepresented communities, including socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, to apply for membership to the Task Force and its working groups.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $700 Million to Connect People in Rural Areas to High-Speed Internet
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) made $714 million in grants and loans to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers and business owners in 19 states to reliable, affordable high-speed internet.