If the rates appear similar now, they clearly diverged at the time of the 2007 Census of Agriculture. Then, 56 pct of farms had Internet access compared to 62 pct of households nationwide that used the Internet at home.
Many studies have pointed to a “digital divide,” with younger, higher income or more highly educated people having home computers, smartphones and Internet access at higher speeds. A 2013 Commerce Department report, “Broadband Availability Beyond the Urban-Rural Divide,” said broadband speed declined as distance increased from cities.
USDA officials mentioned the Internet access rate during a Webcast on Friday to release a report on the 2012 census. In a melange of statistics, they said 10,181 farms have leased wind rights to someone else, 39 pct of farm land is rented and 1.1 pct of farms produce 44 pct of all U.S. agricultural sales. The results of the 2012 census are available here.