Rural Development (USDA )

Although the lack of broadband, transit, childcare and housing are all stacked against rural counties as they develop the kind of robust workforce that can attract business, planning and relationships between state and local government can help alleviate some of those challenges. That’s the assessment various practitioners in the workforce development field offered during the Rural Action Caucus Symposium in Greenbrier County (WV). West Virginia faces steep challenges in delivering broadband connectivity to residents, given both the population distribution and the geography. Without housing

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has been helping to close the digital divide in rural America by building, improving, and acquiring the facilities and equipment needed to deliver high-speed internet through the ReConnect Program. High-speed internet connects rural communities to jobs, telemedicine and distance learning, farmers with new technologies and the real-time information they need to stay competitive, and helps small businesses develop their markets.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is, in part, a $65 billion investment in closing the digital divide. To mark the law's second anniversary of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the White House released state-by-state fact sheets with information about how funding from the law is helping to deploy broadband networks where they haven't reached before while also connecting and keeping connected low-income households around the country.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the 2023 Technology Use (Farm Computer Usage and Ownership) report. According to USDA, 85 percent of farms reported having access to the internet nationally. In 2023, 32 percent of farms used the internet to purchase agricultural inputs, which was an increase of 3 percent from 2021. Additionally, 23 percent of farms used the internet to market agricultural activities, which was an increase of 2 percent from 2021. Farms which conducted business with non-agricultural websites in 2023 increased by 2 percent to 49 percent.

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 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.

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.

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

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 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.