MINDEN, Neb. - Economic development officials working for two rural counties with top national rankings for high-speed Internet access on farms say the key is the aggressiveness of providers.
What's more, the development leaders in Kearney County, Neb., and Clay County, Iowa, report that the heavy presence of broadband gives their farmers - and small businesses - a clear competitive edge.
"We may have someone from Minden, Nebraska, come up with the next Yahoo," said Lisa Stadler, executive director of the Kearney County Economic Development Agency based in Minden.
Minden is home of the Americana tourist attraction Pioneer Village.
Kearney County, Neb., ranks seventh nationally among rural counties for the percentage of farmers with access to high-speed Internet, according to the 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census which polled 2.2 million farms nationally.
(See story on Page 1 for ranking of Carroll County and others in the Daily Times Herald circulation area).
In Kearney County, located south of I-80 and the city of Kearney in central Nebraska, 65 percent of farms (248 out of 381) have high-speed Internet access,
The most connected rural counties are the very rich recreation counties of Nantucket in Massachusetts and Pitkin (home of the ski resort Aspen) in Colorado. Hood River, a windsurfing Mecca east of Portland, Ore., ranks third. The next three are ski counties in Colorado.
But Kearney County is the leader among counties that people who live in rural America would consider "real" rural.
Ranking 20th nationally the top county in Iowa for high-speed Internet access is Clay County, home of Spencer, a progressive city in the northwest part of the state.
In Clay County, 58 percent (465 out of 798) farms have high-speed Internet service.
Kathy Evert, president and CEO of the Spencer-based Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, said the numbers show that rural areas can be modern in business practices and climate.
"I think it counters some of the things we hear nationally," Evert said.
Evert said Clay County's ranking stems in large part from the effectiveness of Spencer Municipal Utilities and Evertek, the latter an Everly, Iowa-based Internet service provider.
"They're entrepreneurial, they're locally owned," she said. "They've found a way to deliver service."
She said the Net is vital for Iowa farmers.
"The ones I do know rely on the Internet heavily," Evert said. "They are avid users and take advantage of that resource."
In Minden, Stadler had a quick reply when asked what high-speed has meant for her county.
"Are you experienced with dial-up?" she said.
Like Evert, Stadler said strong providers are key.
"We have some really active service providers who are working for the rural communities," Stadler said.
Specifically, Stadler said farmers rely on high-speed service to maintain connections with markets as they are as much commodity traders as producers.
Farmers also use the Net to download data that is involved with global positioning systems, which is increasingly employed to make agriculture more efficient, Stadler said.
Geographic isolation is an issue for Minden, located a six-hour drive from the Denver airport, three hours from Omaha and about six hours from Kansas City's airport.
Stadler said the high-speed Internet connections allow for people to handle all manner and variety of commerce that can't be done face to face.
