TIFTON — Lack of broadband access, labor shortages and the financial difficulty of getting started in agriculture were all up for discussion Friday at Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s listening session.

Held at the University of Georgia Tifton Conference Center, Perdue took questions and comments from local business and agriculture leaders and offered his own thoughts about how to best help rural America.

Broadband internet access has become more of an agriculture issue recently as precision farming that utilizes GPS guided machinery has become popular.

“These combines and this data-driven, precision agriculture can’t operate without connectivity,” said Perdue. “We want to work with every state on the [broadband] efforts.

“It’s just as important in the 21st century as roads, sewer and water were previously.”

The board talked about how difficult it was for new farmers to access capital to get a farming operation going.

“Since the recession, rural America hasn’t come back like much of America has,” said Perdue.

“The financial barriers to agriculture have just continued to increase and increase…If you’re not inherited with a farm, it’s very difficult to start with start-up costs.”

Perdue mentioned farm incubators as one possible way to help young farmers get a start.

For those already in the agriculture business, labor shortages have been an issue.

“At the end of the day, we have to have people to do the work of agriculture,” said Skeeter McCorkle with McCorkle Nurseries.

The difficulty of getting enough workers into the field has been mirrored by the difficulty in convincing doctors and medical professionals to move to and practice in rural areas.

“We can convince them to deal with the gnats, but I have a hard time telling a doctor he can’t get internet,” said Emily Watson with Colquitt Regional.

“There is a family medical practitioner shortage coming.”

The listening session was part of Perdue’s work on the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity.

According to a press release earlier this year, the group is tasked with:

• examining current barriers to economic prosperity in rural America and how innovation and technology may play a role in long-term, sustainable rural development.

• working with state agencies charged with implementing economic development, agricultural, and environmental programs, while also emphasizing regulatory flexibility for farms and small businesses.

• examining crop protection tools used by farmers and also address concerns regarding labor needed for livestock and year-round agricultural jobs.

• focusing on tax policies that allow family farms to remain intact, while also protecting against federal takeover of state-adjudicated water rights, permitting and licensing, and conservation requirements beyond what is provided in law.

• improving food safety and the implementation of food safety laws, but also recognizing the unique nature of farming and the diverse business structures of farms.