In another discussion at the Salinas Valley Ag Technology Summit last week, CDFA Sec. Karen Ross said the federal administration across agencies is focusing on the issue of broadband connectivity.
Ross has a seat on the California Broadband Council, which recently delivered an action plan to the governor. The report called for broadband speeds four times that of the federal standard.
Ross said the state needs to find out where all the pots of money for broadband will be coming from and leverage that with private sector dollars. Local communities must develop plans for how to funnel that money into upgrading the local broadband infrastructure, she said.
Better data analytics would help agriculture with weather and water forecasting and even modeling new pest introductions and pathways, she explained.
