: Empowering American Farmers - WISPA Celebrates LAST ACRE Act

Jul 28, 2023

WISPA - Broadband Without Boundaries is cheering on Senators Deb Fischer and Ben Ray Lujan for introducing the groundbreaking LAST ACRE Act. This much-needed bill recognizes the significance of connecting rural farms with high-speed broadband, propelling productivity and growth.

Leveraging USDA resources, the Act envisions "last acre" coverage, ensuring that all farmland and structures can benefit from broadband access, regardless of the technology employed.

Providing life-changing internet where it was previously rare, Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) have been at the vanguard of serving American farmlands for a long time. For many rural areas, they provided essential competition to traditional providers, driving innovation and accessibility.

Some of WISPA's pioneers were farmers themselves, who realized the value of Internet access for reaching markets, leading them to create broadband infrastructure on their own, revolutionizing their farms and communities.

The role of broadband in the U.S. agricultural ecosystem cannot be overstated. It now connects farms, devices, soil, and livestock, essential for maintaining the country's status as a productive agricultural powerhouse.

However, due to the geographical remoteness and challenges in serving rural areas, universal broadband access has been elusive. The LAST ACRE Act takes a holistic approach, presenting a flexible program through the USDA to extend connectivity options to every American farmer.

WISPA's support for the LAST ACRE Act stems from its belief in the intrinsic connection between thriving farms and a healthy nation. By championing this bill, WISPA aims to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure its successful passage, ushering in a new era of technological empowerment for rural communities and American farmers.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.