Interesting column from Nicholas D. Kristof, columnist for the New York Times, who suggests that, "one way to assist family farms would be to underwrite rural broadband just as rural electrification transformed farms in the last century. Then rural businesses might stand a chance."
The central theme of his article is that the majority of the current farm bill payments and benefits go to entities that generate more than $200,000 in annual revenue and that, "95 percent of farmers get little or no benefit from the farm bill." Kristof brings a measure of credibility to this column, as he owns timberland in Oregon near the family farm where he grew up. He receives $588 annually not to grow timber. He also writes of how the current structure of the farm bill tears apart the fabric of communities.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_6553976
The independent telcos, with their community focus and resulting high percentage of broadband coverage, could be a poster child for a better way of supporting our rural communities and agricultural breadbasket.