Nearly a Quarter of Farms Don't Own or Use a Computer

We hear a lot about precision agriculture and "smart farming" these days. But a USDA report shows that digital adoption by farms is lacking.

The report outlined in the Southeast Iowa Union points out that a higher percentage of farms use smartphones (80%) than use computers (75%). Another factor in slower farm adoption is lack of broadband. The report says in 2023, just 51 percent of farms with an internet connection were using a landline connection of some sort, while 75% connected through a cellular data plan.

Clearly there is a lot of work to be done promoting digital adoption and device ownership in rural America, and in extending real broadband to these areas.