Getting the dirt to talk with rural broadband
ARNOLD - The Arnold Economic Development, (AEDC) Page Wireless (PW), Custer Public Power (CPP) and Great Plains Communication (GPC) hosted a meeting to outline, “The wait for Nebraska rural broadband is over” on Thursday, Oct. 15 in Arnold. This was, no doubt, the first of many such informative meetings.
Julie Bushell, President of Paige Wireless stated, “This shows what coloration can do,” when talking about putting all the pieces together. Jerry Prange, Business Development, PW, stated, “Getting data from point A to point B, decision making has become so critical in todays farming,”
Many times throughout the day the phrase “Get the dirt to talk” was said by more than one speaker, that is, the importance to get the real time data to farmers to help them make decisions on watering crops, knowing areas of the field too wet or too dry and pinpointing waterlogged ar
eas to prevent excess fertilizer runoff.
Village Chair for the community of Arnold, Glen Bowers said it best.” “It is important to keep
our village a place that people want to live. It is important that the youth want to stay and keep them connected in a way they can work remotely in
rural Nebraska.”
Janelle Allison, Chief Operating Officer for Great Plains Communications, said, “Great Plains Communications is providing back-haul fiber for Paige Wireless to complete this project. We have had the privilege of serving business and homes in Arnold and the surrounding areas for many years. This particular initiative will increase access to Smart Ag technologies for area farmers, which is a win all around for both Arnold and the state of Nebraska.”
Several in attendance went to the Smith farm right outside of Arnold and the Paulman Farms in Sutherland to see first hand how the models were set up and understand data collected.
A side note, as I attended this meeting and talked with others, it is important to understand what is happening with the technology starting with an elementary introduction and going through to the masters level of understanding. That is why the Custer County Chief will explore the possibilities in the upcoming section in “Progress/Technology” in early 2021; stay tuned.
In the meantime, this shows another way that communities in Custer County are stepping up and keeping up to bring the latest to their community and the Ag producers who need the information quickly.