Four generations of the Thompson and Voorhies families have farmed land in Lawrence County, Indiana. Soon, the newest generation will be able to do many of the things that farming entails, faster. And that means a lot to Amy Voorhies.
Amy talked to us recently about AT&T’s plans to bring fiber connectivity to rural Lawrence County through 3 different public-private projects. The most recent project was announced in September, with the other 2 unveiled last year; altogether, AT&T Fiber® will be built to 4,200 new locations in the area between now and 2025.
“Access to high-speed internet in farming is essential because the way we farm today is changing and it is changing fast – faster than some farmers can keep up with,” Voorhies said. “Buying livestock happens through online auctions that we cannot be a part of due to slow internet. Selling our hay crop in the summer is limited because our method of advertising is slow and local. Farm equipment is bought and sold online. When the veterinarian is needed, a video conference call could save time, money, and an animal’s life.”
“Simply put, farming has become a business that requires high-speed internet.”
Amy’s parents, Debbie and Howard Thompson, bought the farm where she lives and works back in the 1970s.
“We raised our four children here, while also raising cattle, and growing corn, soybeans, and hay,” she said. “Now, the kids all have their own families, and everyone is involved in their own way. Some of the kids raise sheep and chickens. Others raise pigs. The grandkids have rabbits and goats. Everyone has something invested in this farm.”
Plans for the AT&T projects call for residents, businesses and farms to have access to superfast internet – delivering up to 5-Gig speeds with symmetrical upload and download speeds1. Consistently fast speeds and increased bandwidth mean customers can connect multiple devices, stream from multiple sources, and quickly upload content to social media, all at the same time.2
Amy, who also serves as the local county clerk, believes the addition of AT&T Fiber to the community will allow farmers to put a new spin on “working smarter, not harder.”
“Farm work is hard, no matter what, but with access to high-speed fiber internet, we could definitely ‘farm smarter,’” she concluded.
Read more about the value of connectivity in rural America here.
1Limited availability in select areas. Speeds based on wired connection. Actual speeds may vary. Single device wired speed maximum 4.7Gbps. For more info, go to www.att.com/speed101.
2Based on wired connection to gateway.
