Promoting Precision Agriculture Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1985 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1985

  To enhance the participation of precision agriculture in the United
                    States, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2025

 Mr. Davis of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. Mann) introduced the
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To enhance the participation of precision agriculture in the United
                    States, 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 ``Promoting Precision Agriculture
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 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.
            (2) 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).
            (3) 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.
            (4) 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.
            (5) 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, as determined by the
                Secretary, that directly contributes to a reduction in,
                or improved efficiency of, the use of crop or livestock
                production inputs, which may include--
                            (i) seed;
                            (ii) feed;
                            (iii) fertilizer;
                            (iv) soil amendments;
                            (v) chemicals;
                            (vi) water;
                            (vii) time;
                            (viii) fuel; and
                            (ix) such other inputs as the Secretary
                        determines to be appropriate.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
        of Agriculture.
            (7) 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.
            (8) Voluntary consensus standards development
        organization.--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)).

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 and the Federal
Communications Commission, 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, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate a report that summarizes the findings of each
study conducted under subsection (a).
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