With Signing of Farm Bill, Loebsack and Latta's Precision Ag Bill to Become Law

Statement

Today, the President Donald Trump signed into law the 2018 Farm Bill conference report, which contained the language from H.R. 4881, the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act. Congressmen Loebsack and Latta have been working in a bipartisan fashion to get the bill signed into law. Earlier this year, the House passed H.R. 4881 on a standalone basis.

"I am proud to work with Rep. Latta to get the language of this bipartisan bill signed into law. It is important that our farmers have access to the technology necessary to assist in planting and monitoring their crops," said Loebsack. "The task force established by this bill will help examine the broadband needs of farmers and rural communities to allow them to take advantage of these new technologies in order to increase crop yields."

"I've talked with farmers throughout Ohio's 5th Congressional District that are utilizing advanced technologies to improve farm productivity and sustainability, and it's making a big difference," said Latta. "However, it's clear that the agricultural community is at a disadvantage compared to other sectors because they are in rural areas that often have limited access to high-speed Internet. It's critical that we close the "Digital Divide' to ensure that the agricultural community can fully utilize this cutting-edge technology. I want to thank Congressman Loebsack for working together with me on the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act and helping get this important legislation to the President's desk."

The Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act establishes a Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States, which will operate under the direction of the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) and in collaboration with US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Task Force must be comprised of agricultural producers, Internet service providers, broadband mapping experts, and representatives from the satellite industry, electric cooperatives, precision agriculture equipment manufacturers, and local and state government representatives.

The duties of the Task Force include:

* Identifying and measuring current gaps in broadband coverage on agricultural land;
* Developing policy recommendations to promote the rapid, expanded deployment of broadband Internet access service on agricultural land, with a goal of achieving reliable service on 95 percent of agricultural land by 2025;
* Recommending steps the FCC should take to obtain reliable and standardized data measurements of broadband Internet access service availability as may be necessary to target funding support to unserved agricultural land in need of broadband Internet access service; and
* Recommending steps the FCC should consider to ensure that the expertise of USDA and available farm data are reflected in developing future programs of the Commission to deploy broadband Internet access service and to direct available funding to unserved agricultural land where needed.

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