II 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Precision Agriculture 

5 Loan Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRECISION AGRICULTURE LOAN PROGRAM. 

7 Subtitle F of title I of the Food, Conservation, and 

8 Energy Act of 2008 is amended by inserting after section 

9 1614 (7 U.S.C. 8789) the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 719 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 1614A. PRECISION AGRICULTURE LOAN PROGRAM. 

2 ‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that— 

4 ‘‘(1) producers depend on a healthy environ5 ment to effectively produce the food and fiber need6 ed for all communities; 

7 ‘‘(2) precision agriculture technologies can— 

8 ‘‘(A) provide producers with better insight 

9 into the health of the environment of the pro10 ducer; and 

11 ‘‘(B) allow producers to make more in12 formed decisions that improve efficiencies, re13 duce waste, and improve environmental quality 

14 in a manner that benefits both nature and the 

15 financial well-being of the producer; 

16 ‘‘(3) the adoption of precision agriculture tech17 nologies has already demonstrated that farmers and 

18 ranchers can produce crops in a manner that uses 

19 less water, reduces soil erosion, and mitigates green20 house gas emissions while increasing carbon seques21 tration, water quality, and yields; and 

22 ‘‘(4) the Department of Agriculture should seek 

23 to address hurdles to producers seeking to adopt 

24 precision agriculture technologies that allows for 

25 broader adoption of these technologies that provide 

26 benefits for both producers and the environment. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 719 IS

1 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) PRECISION AGRICULTURE.—The term 

3 ‘precision agriculture’ means managing, tracking, or 

4 reducing crop or livestock production inputs, includ5 ing seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, 

6 at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granu7 larity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and 

8 maintain or improve environmental quality. 

9 ‘‘(2) PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY.— 

10 The term ‘precision agriculture technology’ means 

11 any technology (including equipment that is nec12 essary for the deployment of that technology) that 

13 directly contributes to a reduction in, or improved 

14 efficiency of, inputs used in crop or livestock produc15 tion, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) Global Positioning System-based or 

17 geospatial mapping; 

18 ‘‘(B) satellite or aerial imagery; 

19 ‘‘(C) yield monitors; 

20 ‘‘(D) soil mapping; 

21 ‘‘(E) sensors for gathering data on crop, 

22 soil, or livestock conditions; 

23 ‘‘(F) Internet of Things and telematics 

24 technologies; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 719 IS

1 ‘‘(G) data management software and ad2 vanced analytics; 

3 ‘‘(H) network connectivity products and 

4 solutions; 

5 ‘‘(I) Global Positioning System guidance or 

6 auto-steer systems; 

7 ‘‘(J) variable rate technology for applying 

8 inputs, such as section control; and 

9 ‘‘(K) any other technology, as determined 

10 by the Secretary, that leads to a reduction in, 

11 or improves efficiency of, crop and livestock 

12 production inputs, which may include seed, 

13 feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time. 

14 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM.—As soon as practicable after the 

15 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall es16 tablish a precision agriculture loan program to encourage 

17 the adoption of precision agriculture by providing funds 

18 to producers engaged in livestock or crop production for 

19 the purchase of precision agriculture technology. 

20 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—The precision agriculture 

21 loan program under this section shall be administered by 

22 the Secretary, acting through the Deputy Administrator 

23 for Farm Programs of the Farm Service Agency. 

24 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.—A precision agriculture 

25 loan under this section shall be made available to any proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S719.IS S719

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 719 IS

1 ducer described in subsection (c) that, as determined by 

2 the Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(1) has a satisfactory credit history; 

4 ‘‘(2) will use the loan funds to purchase preci5 sion agriculture technology; and 

6 ‘‘(3) demonstrates an ability to repay the loan. 

7 ‘‘(f) TERM OF LOANS.—A precision agriculture loan 

8 under this section shall have a maximum term of 12 years. 

9 ‘‘(g) LOAN AMOUNT.—The maximum aggregate loan 

10 amount of a precision agriculture loan under this section 

11 shall be $500,000. 

12 ‘‘(h) LOAN SECURITY.—Approval of a precision agri13 culture loan under this section shall require the borrower 

14 to provide loan security to the Secretary, in the form of— 

15 ‘‘(1) a lien on the precision agriculture tech16 nology being purchased; or 

17 ‘‘(2) such other security as is acceptable to the 

18 Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(i) REPORTING.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF RECIPIENT PRODUCER.— 

21 In this subsection, the term ‘recipient producer’ 

22 means an eligible producer described in subsection 

23 (e) that received a precision agriculture loan under 

24 this section during the fiscal year covered by the ap25 plicable report prepared under paragraph (2). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 719 IS

1 ‘‘(2) PREPARATION OF REPORT.—For each fis2 cal year, the Secretary shall prepare a report that 

3 includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) aggregate data based on a review of 

5 each outstanding loan made by the Secretary 

6 under this section; and 

7 ‘‘(B) a description of— 

8 ‘‘(i) for the United States and for 

9 each State and county (or equivalent juris10 diction) in the United States— 

11 ‘‘(I) the age of each recipient 

12 producer; 

13 ‘‘(II) the duration during which 

14 each recipient producer has engaged 

15 in agricultural production; 

16 ‘‘(III) the size of the farm or 

17 ranch of each recipient producer; 

18 ‘‘(IV) the total amount provided 

19 as loans under this section for each 

20 category of equipment or technology 

21 described in subparagraphs (A) 

22 through (K) of subsection (b)(2) dur23 ing the fiscal year covered by the re24 port; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 719 IS

1 ‘‘(V) the estimated input reduced 

2 or environmental benefits received per 

3 category of equipment or technology 

4 described in those subparagraphs with 

5 respect to which a loan was provided 

6 under this section during the fiscal 

7 year covered by the report or any 

8 prior fiscal year, including the esti9 mated input reduced or environmental 

10 benefits received per category— 

11 ‘‘(aa) during the fiscal year 

12 covered by the report with re13 spect to— 

14 ‘‘(AA) loans provided 

15 under this section during 

16 that fiscal year; and 

17 ‘‘(BB) loans provided 

18 under this section during 

19 that fiscal year or any prior 

20 fiscal year; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) in the aggregate with 

22 respect to all loans provided 

23 under this section during or prior 

24 to the fiscal year covered by the 

25 report; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 719 IS

1 ‘‘(VI) the race, ethnicity, and 

2 gender of each recipient producer; 

3 ‘‘(VII) the 1 or more agricultural 

4 commodities or types of enterprise for 

5 which each loan provided under this 

6 section during the fiscal year was pro7 vided; 

8 ‘‘(VIII) the amount of each loan 

9 provided under this section during the 

10 fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(IX) the default rate of the 

12 loans made under this section dur13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the fiscal year covered 

15 by the report; 

16 ‘‘(bb) each preceding fiscal 

17 year; and 

18 ‘‘(cc) in the aggregate with 

19 respect to all loans provided 

20 under this section during or prior 

21 to the fiscal year covered by the 

22 report; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) for each State and county (or 

24 equivalent jurisdiction) in the United 

25 States, the number of outstanding loans 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 719 IS

1 made under this section, according to the 

2 loan size cohort. 

3 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, and annually there7 after, submit the report described in paragraph 

8 (2) to— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture, 

10 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

12 of the Senate; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Agriculture of 

14 the House of Representatives; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Appropria16 tions of the House of Representatives; and 

17 ‘‘(B) not later than 90 days after the date 

18 on which the report is submitted under sub19 paragraph (A), make the report publicly avail20 able. 

21 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

23 sums as are necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS