Laura Schneiderman
lschneiderman@post-gazette.com
July 22, 2019
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Bethany Coursen of Spring Mills uses the internet in the office of her family farm, Valley Wide dairy farm, to look through feed, milk production and ovulation data collected by their Lely Astronaut A4, a robotic milking machine made by the Dutch company Lely, Wednesday, June 12, 2019, at the Valley Wide Farm in Spring Mills. Mrs. Coursen and husband Adam bought the automatic milking system four years ago, but encountered problems early after learning the equipment required internet access. Because of the farm’s location and mountainous topography, broadband access is spotty and weak at best. The family uses a Verizon 4G jetpack for broadband access in their dairy barn, along with another jetpack and satellite dish for internet access at their home. Ms. Coursen estimates their monthly bill is well over $300. (Jessie Wardarski/Post-Gazette)