The UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Parlier is one of the first UC extension research facilities to be equipped with ultra-fast, 100Gbps internet connections.

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The University of California Agriculture and natural Resources Division, along with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California, seeks to connect nine Research and Extension Center and 57 local UC Cooperative Extension offices to the ultra-broadband network. UC Kearney is one of the first.

“These facilities, until now, have been hampered by poor Internet connectivity to support the 700 UC academic researchers who are engaged with community and industry partners to ensure that California has healthy food systems, environments, and communities,” according to a new release.

Currently, offices, laboratories and meeting facilities at Kearney have access to this high-speed Internet. In the coming months, high-speed wireless connectivity will become available throughout the 330-acre center. Researchers will be able to collect and upload data without having to make a stop in their offices or laboratories.

“The Internet at Kearney was like a drinking straw delivering and retrieving information, when what we needed was a fire hose,” said Gabe Youtsey, chief information officer for UC ANR. “High-speed, broadband Internet at Kearney will allow UC ANR to lead innovative, on-farm agriculture technology research and extension for the UC in the Central Valley. It will allow Kearney researchers to share big data and big computing among UCs and globally.“