[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 719 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 719

To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to establish a 
      precision agriculture loan program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2023

 Mrs. Fischer (for herself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to establish a 
      precision agriculture loan program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Precision Agriculture Loan Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. PRECISION AGRICULTURE LOAN PROGRAM.

    Subtitle F of title I of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 
2008 is amended by inserting after section 1614 (7 U.S.C. 8789) the 
following:

``SEC. 1614A. PRECISION AGRICULTURE LOAN PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            ``(1) producers depend on a healthy environment to 
        effectively produce the food and fiber needed for all 
        communities;
            ``(2) precision agriculture technologies can--
                    ``(A) provide producers with better insight into 
                the health of the environment of the producer; and
                    ``(B) allow producers to make more informed 
                decisions that improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and 
                improve environmental quality in a manner that benefits 
                both nature and the financial well-being of the 
                producer;
            ``(3) the adoption of precision agriculture technologies 
        has already demonstrated that farmers and ranchers can produce 
        crops in a manner that uses less water, reduces soil erosion, 
        and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions while increasing carbon 
        sequestration, water quality, and yields; and
            ``(4) the Department of Agriculture should seek to address 
        hurdles to producers seeking to adopt precision agriculture 
        technologies that allows for broader adoption of these 
        technologies that provide benefits for both producers and the 
        environment.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Precision agriculture.--The term `precision 
        agriculture' means managing, tracking, or reducing crop or 
        livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, 
        chemicals, water, and time, at a heightened level of spatial 
        and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, 
        and maintain or improve environmental quality.
            ``(2) Precision agriculture technology.--The term 
        `precision agriculture technology' means any technology 
        (including equipment that is necessary for the deployment of 
        that technology) that directly contributes to a reduction in, 
        or improved efficiency of, inputs used in crop or livestock 
        production, including--
                    ``(A) Global Positioning System-based or geospatial 
                mapping;
                    ``(B) satellite or aerial imagery;
                    ``(C) yield monitors;
                    ``(D) soil mapping;
                    ``(E) sensors for gathering data on crop, soil, or 
                livestock conditions;
                    ``(F) Internet of Things and telematics 
                technologies;
                    ``(G) data management software and advanced 
                analytics;
                    ``(H) network connectivity products and solutions;
                    ``(I) Global Positioning System guidance or auto-
                steer systems;
                    ``(J) variable rate technology for applying inputs, 
                such as section control; and
                    ``(K) any other technology, as determined by the 
                Secretary, that leads to a reduction in, or improves 
                efficiency of, crop and livestock production inputs, 
                which may include seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, 
                water, and time.
    ``(c) Program.--As soon as practicable after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Secretary shall establish a precision agriculture 
loan program to encourage the adoption of precision agriculture by 
providing funds to producers engaged in livestock or crop production 
for the purchase of precision agriculture technology.
    ``(d) Administration.--The precision agriculture loan program under 
this section shall be administered by the Secretary, acting through the 
Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs of the Farm Service Agency.
    ``(e) Eligible Producers.--A precision agriculture loan under this 
section shall be made available to any producer described in subsection 
(c) that, as determined by the Secretary--
            ``(1) has a satisfactory credit history;
            ``(2) will use the loan funds to purchase precision 
        agriculture technology; and
            ``(3) demonstrates an ability to repay the loan.
    ``(f) Term of Loans.--A precision agriculture loan under this 
section shall have a maximum term of 12 years.
    ``(g) Loan Amount.--The maximum aggregate loan amount of a 
precision agriculture loan under this section shall be $500,000.
    ``(h) Loan Security.--Approval of a precision agriculture loan 
under this section shall require the borrower to provide loan security 
to the Secretary, in the form of--
            ``(1) a lien on the precision agriculture technology being 
        purchased; or
            ``(2) such other security as is acceptable to the 
        Secretary.
    ``(i) Reporting.--
            ``(1) Definition of recipient producer.--In this 
        subsection, the term `recipient producer' means an eligible 
        producer described in subsection (e) that received a precision 
        agriculture loan under this section during the fiscal year 
        covered by the applicable report prepared under paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Preparation of report.--For each fiscal year, the 
        Secretary shall prepare a report that includes--
                    ``(A) aggregate data based on a review of each 
                outstanding loan made by the Secretary under this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) a description of--
                            ``(i) for the United States and for each 
                        State and county (or equivalent jurisdiction) 
                        in the United States--
                                    ``(I) the age of each recipient 
                                producer;
                                    ``(II) the duration during which 
                                each recipient producer has engaged in 
                                agricultural production;
                                    ``(III) the size of the farm or 
                                ranch of each recipient producer;
                                    ``(IV) the total amount provided as 
                                loans under this section for each 
                                category of equipment or technology 
                                described in subparagraphs (A) through 
                                (K) of subsection (b)(2) during the 
                                fiscal year covered by the report;
                                    ``(V) the estimated input reduced 
                                or environmental benefits received per 
                                category of equipment or technology 
                                described in those subparagraphs with 
                                respect to which a loan was provided 
                                under this section during the fiscal 
                                year covered by the report or any prior 
                                fiscal year, including the estimated 
                                input reduced or environmental benefits 
                                received per category--
                                            ``(aa) during the fiscal 
                                        year covered by the report with 
                                        respect to--

                                                    ``(AA) loans 
                                                provided under this 
                                                section during that 
                                                fiscal year; and

                                                    ``(BB) loans 
                                                provided under this 
                                                section during that 
                                                fiscal year or any 
                                                prior fiscal year; and

                                            ``(bb) in the aggregate 
                                        with respect to all loans 
                                        provided under this section 
                                        during or prior to the fiscal 
                                        year covered by the report;
                                    ``(VI) the race, ethnicity, and 
                                gender of each recipient producer;
                                    ``(VII) the 1 or more agricultural 
                                commodities or types of enterprise for 
                                which each loan provided under this 
                                section during the fiscal year was 
                                provided;
                                    ``(VIII) the amount of each loan 
                                provided under this section during the 
                                fiscal year; and
                                    ``(IX) the default rate of the 
                                loans made under this section during--
                                            ``(aa) the fiscal year 
                                        covered by the report;
                                            ``(bb) each preceding 
                                        fiscal year; and
                                            ``(cc) in the aggregate 
                                        with respect to all loans 
                                        provided under this section 
                                        during or prior to the fiscal 
                                        year covered by the report; and
                            ``(ii) for each State and county (or 
                        equivalent jurisdiction) in the United States, 
                        the number of outstanding loans made under this 
                        section, according to the loan size cohort.
            ``(3) Submission of report.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) not later than 1 year after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, submit 
                the report described in paragraph (2) to--
                            ``(i) the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Appropriations of 
                        the Senate;
                            ``(iii) the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                        House of Representatives; and
                            ``(iv) the Committee on Appropriations of 
                        the House of Representatives; and
                    ``(B) not later than 90 days after the date on 
                which the report is submitted under subparagraph (A), 
                make the report publicly available.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out 
this section.''.
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