THIS CONFERENCE WILL BRING TOGETHER RESEARCHERS, EXTENSION OFFICIALS, AND STAKEHOLDERS IN THE FALL OF 2020. THE CONFERENCE WILL LAUNCH A LONGER-TERM PROJECT TO MAXIMIZE THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE BY IDENTIFYING EFFECTIVE PRACTICES, DELIVERING RESEARCH RESULTS, AND EMBEDDING RESULTS IN ISSUE BRIEFS, CURRICULUM, AND OTHER MATERIALS TO STRENGTHEN RURAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND BROADBAND ACCESS AND USAGE. THE CONFERENCE WILL FOCUS ON THE INTERSECTION OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BROADBAND IN RURAL COMMUNITIES AND SMART AGRICULTURE APPLICATIONS OF RURAL BROADBAND. THE OUTCOME OF THE CONFERENCE ITSELF WILL BE A SERIES OF PAPERS THAT ARTICULATE THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE, THE MOST RELEVANT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, AND THE DATA REQUIRED FOR LONGER-TERM RESEARCH AND ULTIMATE DEVELOPMENT OF EXTENSION MATERIALS AND CURRICULUM. WE EXPECT TO PUBLISH THESE PAPERS, WITH AN EDITORIAL SUMMARY, IN A SPECIAL ISSUE OF EITHER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OR CHOICES. BY ENSURING PARTICIPATION OF RESEARCHERS, EXTENSION PRACTITIONERS, AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS, WE WILL EMBED THE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH INTO THE DESIGN OF LONGER-TERM INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION SEED AND FULL GRANT APPLICATIONS.