[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 45 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S744-S746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. Warnock):
  S. 734. A bill to enhance the participation of precision agriculture 
in the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, agriculture may well be among the world's 
oldest ways of life, but it has never been stagnant. Farmers and 
ranchers have always looked for new and better ways to increase crop 
yields, conserve resources, and keep their land and livestock healthy 
and productive. Today's agricultural producers explore new farming 
practices, grow more resilient crops, and adopt new technologies to 
produce more and to use less. And the resilience of our food supply and 
America's ability to feed our country and the world are in no small 
measure thanks to these farmer-driven advances.
  As I said, farmers and ranchers are always looking for ways to 
improve their operations, but they can face challenges when they are 
looking for reliable data. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
collects a lot of data, little has been done to analyze and organize it 
so it is useful for farmers.
  Right now, many producers have to rely on anecdotal information to 
determine the value of things, like conservation and other production 
practices, and decide what to adopt on their farms and ranches. Better 
data would make it easier for farmers to decide what practices are the 
best option for them.
  A recent study of Department of Agriculture data from farms in 
several States confirmed anecdotal reports about certain conservation 
practices. It demonstrated that farmers who use these practices were 
more likely to be able to plant during an exceptionally wet spring. 
That is the kind of information farmers need to make informed decisions 
about their operations. We need to see more of this kind of analysis.
  That is why, earlier this year, I introduced my bipartisan 
Agriculture Innovation Act with Senator Klobuchar. Our bill would make 
it easier for producers to use USDA data to assess the impact of 
various conservation and production practices so that producers can 
choose the right practices for their farm and ranch operations. I will 
work to get the Agriculture Innovation Act included in this year's farm 
bill.

[[Page S745]]

  While the macrolevel data that USDA collects can provide valuable 
information, farmers are already beginning to look to the next 
frontier, collecting real-time microlevel data from their own fields.
  Imagine what a farmer could do with real-time information about soil 
quality, water uptake, and plant health. Imagine quickly knowing 
whether you need more nitrogen or less water in a section of your 
field. Imagine having real-time data about your land or livestock at 
your fingertips. This is the promise of precision agriculture: 
harnessing the power of technology to help producers manage their 
operations with real-time data.
  GPS can allow farmers to identify field characteristics, map out 
irrigation, and optimize crop production on their fields. Soil monitors 
can allow farmers to react to conditions as they change and apply 
fertilizers more precisely. And remote monitoring can help farmers keep 
tabs on everything from resource usage to livestock health and feed 
consumption.
  This precision agriculture represents a significant leap forward in 
farmers' long advance toward producing more and using less. It presents 
an opportunity to increase profitability by cutting down on inputs, the 
prices of which have spiked amid our inflation crisis. And it is a step 
toward broader use of conservation practices that will keep farm land 
in productive use for years to come.
  But for Americans to reap all of the benefits of precision 
agriculture, more work needs to be done.
  Today, I am introducing the bipartisan Promoting Precision 
Agriculture Act with Senator Warnock to help facilitate widespread 
adoption of precision technology. My bill would establish a partnership 
between government and the private sector to develop voluntary 
interconnectivity standards and prioritize cyber security for precision 
agriculture technologies. These standards will help enhance agriculture 
update and ensure reliability, usability, and security for producers 
and their data. It is an important element of ensuring these new 
technologies deliver the advances they promise and of making sure 
farmers and ranchers can trust that they are worthwhile investments.
  But as farmers look to precision agriculture future, the one thing 
that could still hold them back is the continued digital divide. 
Without a reliable internet connection, precision agriculture just 
doesn't work. Next-generation precision ag technologies will need 
stronger connectivity.
  Connecting unserved areas to reliable broadband has long been a 
priority of mine, and we made a good deal of progress through Federal 
investments and policies like my MOBILE NOW Act that removed regulatory 
barriers to broadband expansion.
  But we still have a lot of work to do.
  This year, I reintroduced my Rural Internet Improvement Act to 
streamline USDA's broadband authorities and ensure broadband funding 
goes to areas where at least 90 percent of households lack broadband 
access.
  We also need to ensure broadband investments we have already made are 
actually going to their intended goal, and that is expanding broadband 
access to areas that are currently lacking it.
  In the last 3 years, the Federal Government has allocated $79 billion 
to broadband programs. But all the money in the world is useless if it 
is not being spent properly, which is why I launched a broadband 
oversight initiative in December to ensure this funding is going toward 
delivering broadband to the Americans who need it most.
  It has been clear for a long time how critical an internet connection 
is to the future of everything from education and healthcare to 
business and everyday life. Connectivity has the potential to truly 
revolutionize how we grow food in America.
  I am proud that South Dakota has been a leader in precision 
agriculture. South Dakota State University was the first in the country 
to offer a 4-year precision agriculture degree. In 2021, the university 
opened the Raven Precision Agriculture Center where the next generation 
of farmers will work to advance the next generation of farming.
  Since opening its precision ag center, SDSU has also launched a 
precision ag and cyber program with Dakota State University, a leading 
cyber security institution.
  As I have said numerous times, agriculture is the lifeblood of South 
Dakota. And anything we can do to make agriculture more efficient and 
more productive is not only good for our Nation's food supply, it is 
good for South Dakota farmers and their families.
  Precision agriculture is one of those things. It has the potential to 
deliver the same kind of advance that crop rotation, the Farmer's 
Almanac, and crop engineering delivered for farming. It can make 
farming more efficient, more cost-effective, and environmentally 
friendly than it already is. And it can help our farms produce more 
food for more people with fewer resources and on less land.
  I will be working hard to ensure South Dakota farmers and ranchers 
and farmers and ranchers around the country have the resources they 
need to innovate and that this year's farm bill advances the next 
generation of farming.
  A farmer is a lot of things: a scientist and a laborer, an innovator 
and accountant, an engineer and a conservationist. I am proud to serve 
the extraordinary men and women who keep our rich agricultural heritage 
alive and thriving. And I will continue working to help them as they 
move it into the future.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 734

       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 ``Promoting Precision 
     Agriculture Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) 3GPP.--The term ``3GPP'' means the Third Generation 
     Partnership Project.
       (2) Advanced wireless communications technology.--The term 
     ``advanced wireless communications technology'' means 
     advanced technology that contributes to mobile (5G or beyond) 
     networks, next-generation Wi-Fi networks, or other future 
     networks using other technologies, regardless of whether the 
     network is operating on an exclusive licensed, shared 
     licensed, or unlicensed frequency band.
       (3) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
     intelligence'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     238(g) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization 
     Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. note 
     prec. 4061).
       (4) Foreign adversary.--The term ``foreign adversary'' 
     means any foreign government or foreign nongovernment person 
     engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of 
     conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the 
     United States, or security and safety of United States 
     persons.
       (5) Precision agriculture.--The term ``precision 
     agriculture'' means managing, tracking, or reducing crop or 
     livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, 
     fertilizer, chemicals, water, time, and such other inputs as 
     the Secretary determines to be appropriate, at a heightened 
     level of spatial and temporal granularity to improve 
     efficiencies, reduce waste, and maintain environmental 
     quality.
       (6) Precision agriculture equipment.--The term ``precision 
     agriculture equipment'' means any equipment or 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, and livestock 
     conditions;
       (F) Internet of Things and technology that relies on edge 
     and cloud computing;
       (G) data management software and advanced analytics;
       (H) network connectivity products and solutions, including 
     public and private wireless networks;
       (I) global positioning system guidance, auto-steer systems, 
     autonomous fleeting, and other machine-to-machine operations;
       (J) variable rate technology for applying inputs, such as 
     section control; and
       (K) any other technology that leads to a reduction in, or 
     improves efficiency of, crop and livestock production inputs, 
     which may include--
       (i) seed;
       (ii) feed;
       (iii) fertilizer;
       (iv) chemicals;
       (v) water;
       (vi) time;
       (vii) fuel;
       (viii) emissions; and
       (ix) such other inputs as the Secretary determines to be 
     appropriate.
       (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.

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       (8) Trusted.--The term ``trusted'' means, with respect to a 
     provider of advanced communications service or a supplier of 
     communications equipment or service, that the Secretary has 
     determined that the provider or supplier is not owned by, 
     controlled by, or subject to the influence of, a foreign 
     adversary.
       (9) Voluntary consensus standards development 
     organization.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``voluntary consensus standards 
     development organization'' means an organization that 
     develops standards in a process that meets the principles for 
     the development of voluntary consensus standards (as defined 
     in the document of the Office of Management and Budget 
     entitled ``Federal Participation in the Development and Use 
     of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment 
     Activities'' (OMB Circular A-119)).
       (B) Inclusions.--The term ``voluntary consensus standards 
     development organization'' includes the 3GPP, the Alliance 
     for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, the Agricultural 
     Industry Electronics Foundation, and the Global System for 
     Mobile Communications Association.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to enhance the participation of precision agriculture 
     in the United States; and
       (2) to promote United States leadership in voluntary 
     consensus standards development organizations that set 
     standards for precision agriculture.

     SEC. 4. INTERCONNECTIVITY STANDARDS FOR PRECISION 
                   AGRICULTURE.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with 
     the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology, shall--
       (1) develop voluntary, consensus-based, private sector-led 
     interconnectivity standards, guidelines, and best practices 
     for precision agriculture that will promote economies of 
     scale and ease the burden of the adoption of precision 
     agriculture; and
       (2) in carrying out paragraph (1)--
       (A) coordinate with relevant public and trusted private 
     sector stakeholders and other relevant industry 
     organizations, including voluntary consensus standards 
     development organizations; and
       (B) consult with sector-specific agencies, other 
     appropriate agencies, and State and local governments.
       (b) Considerations.--The Secretary, in carrying out 
     subsection (a), shall, in consultation with the Federal 
     Communications Commission and the Director of the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology, consider--
       (1) the evolving demands of precision agriculture;
       (2) the connectivity needs of precision agriculture 
     equipment;
       (3) the cybersecurity challenges facing precision 
     agriculture, including cybersecurity threats for agriculture 
     producers and agriculture supply chains;
       (4) the impact of advanced wireless communications 
     technology on precision agriculture; and
       (5) the impact of artificial intelligence on precision 
     agriculture.

     SEC. 5. GAO ASSESSMENT OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE STANDARDS.

       (a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the Secretary 
     develops standards under section 4, and every 2 years 
     thereafter for the following 8 years, the Comptroller General 
     of the United States shall conduct a study that assesses 
     those standards, including the extent to which those 
     standards, as applicable--
       (1) are voluntary;
       (2) were developed in coordination with relevant industry 
     organizations, including voluntary consensus standards 
     development organizations; and
       (3) have successfully encouraged the adoption of precision 
     agriculture.
       (b) Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, 
     Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a 
     report that summarizes the findings of each study conducted 
     under subsection (a).
                                 ______