Chad Smith, NAFB News Service

Farm Credit Council President and CEO Todd Van Hoose says his organization supports the Rebuild Rural Coalition’s letter they sent to Congress. “Parents working and students studying from home has brought the urban/rural divide on broadband to the fore in a way we can no longer afford to ignore,” Van Hoose says. “That same broadband would help rural residents avoid medical appointments through tele-health initiatives, thereby decreasing their exposure to others at the hospitals and clinics.” The coalition is also concerned about several other aspects of rural infrastructure, noting that we’ve already seen the problems with our food supply chain. “Once these processing plants return to normal operations, they will rely on roads, bridges, locks, and dams, many of which are all crumbling, to transport protein to consumers,” Van Hoose adds. “As Congress considers future COVID-19 relief packages, they need to prioritize rural America’s infrastructure.” The Rebuild Rural coalition is made up of more than 250 local, state, and national organizations from across the country that collectively represent U.S. agricultural producers, cooperatives, rural businesses, as well as rural communities and the families that live in them.