II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2343 

To require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a task force 

for meeting the connectivity and technology needs of precision agriculture 

in the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2018 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. TESTER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a task force for meeting the connectivity and 

technology needs of precision agriculture in the United 

States. 

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 Connectivity Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Precision agriculture technologies and prac2 tices allow farmers to significantly increase crop 

3 yields, eliminate overlap in operations, and reduce 

4 inputs such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, water, and 

5 fuel. 

6 (2) These technologies allow farmers to collect 

7 data in real time about their fields, automate field 

8 management, and maximize resources. 

9 (3) Studies estimate that precision agriculture 

10 technologies can reduce agricultural operation costs 

11 by up to 25 dollars per acre and increase farm yields 

12 by up to 70 percent by 2050. 

13 (4) The critical cost savings and productivity 

14 benefits of precision agriculture cannot be realized 

15 without the availability of reliable broadband Inter16 net access service delivered to the cropland and 

17 ranchland of the United States. 

18 (5) The deployment of broadband Internet ac19 cess service to unserved and underserved cropland 

20 and ranchland is critical to the United States econ21 omy and to the continued leadership of the United 

22 States in global food production. 

23 (6) Despite the growing demand for broadband 

24 Internet access service on cropland and ranchland, 


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1 broadband Internet access service is not consistently 

2 available where needed for agricultural operations. 

3 (7) The Federal Communications Commission 

4 has an important role to play in the deployment of 

5 broadband Internet access service infrastructure on 

6 unserved and underserved cropland and ranchland to 

7 promote precision agriculture. 

8 SEC. 3. TASK FORCE. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section— 

11 (A) the term ‘‘broadband Internet access 

12 service’’ has the meaning given the term in sec13 tion 8.2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula14 tions, or any successor regulation; 

15 (B) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the 

16 Federal Communications Commission; 

17 (C) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the De18 partment of Agriculture; 

19 (D) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec20 retary of Agriculture; and 

21 (E) the term ‘‘Task Force’’ means the 

22 Task Force for Meeting the Connectivity and 

23 Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in 

24 the United States, as established under sub25 section (b). 


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1 (2) AGRICULTURAL TERMS.—For purposes of 

2 this Act, the Secretary shall define the terms ‘‘agri3 cultural operations’’, ‘‘cropland’’, and ‘‘ranchland’’. 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

6 establish the Task Force for Meeting the Connectivity and 

7 Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United 

8 States. 

9 (c) DUTIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall col11 laborate with the Secretary and public and private 

12 stakeholders in the agriculture and technology fields 

13 to— 

14 (A) identify and measure current gaps in 

15 broadband Internet access service coverage of 

16 cropland and ranchland; 

17 (B) assemble a comprehensive guide of all 

18 Federal programs or resources working to ex19 pand broadband Internet access service on 

20 unserved cropland and ranchland; 

21 (C) develop policy recommendations to pro22 mote the rapid, expanded deployment of fixed 

23 and mobile broadband Internet access service 

24 on unserved croplands and ranchlands, with a 

25 goal of achieving reliable service on 95 percent 


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1 of croplands and ranchlands in the United 

2 States by 2025; 

3 (D) promote effective policy and regulatory 

4 solutions that encourage the adoption of 

5 broadband Internet access service on farms and 

6 ranches and promote precision agriculture; 

7 (E) propose new rules of the Commission 

8 or amendments to existing rules of the Commis9 sion to achieve the goals and purposes described 

10 in subparagraph (C); 

11 (F) recommend specific steps that the 

12 Commission and other Federal agencies should 

13 take to obtain reliable and standardized data 

14 measurements of broadband Internet access 

15 service coverage as may be necessary to target 

16 funding support to unserved croplands and 

17 ranchlands in need of broadband Internet ac18 cess service; and 

19 (G) recommend specific steps that the 

20 Commission should take to ensure that the ex21 pertise of the Secretary and available farm data 

22 are reflected in developing Federal programs to 

23 deploy broadband Internet access service infra24 structure and to direct available funding to 


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1 unserved croplands and ranchlands where need2 ed. 

3 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Task Force shall 

4 consult with the Secretary to develop recommenda5 tions for the Commission that utilize the expertise, 

6 data mapping information, and resources of the De7 partment that the Department uses to identify crop8 lands, ranchlands, and other areas with agricultural 

9 operations. 

10 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be— 

11 (1) composed of not more than 15 members 

12 who shall— 

13 (A) be selected by the Chairman of the 

14 Commission in consultation with appropriate 

15 staff of the Commission and with the Secretary; 

16 and 

17 (B) include— 

18 (i) agricultural producers representing 

19 diverse geographic regions and farm sizes, 

20 including owners and operators of farms of 

21 less than 100 acres; 

22 (ii) Internet service providers, includ23 ing regional or rural fixed and mobile 

24 broadband Internet access service proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 Jan 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2343.IS S2343

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1 viders and telecommunications infrastruc2 ture providers; 

3 (iii) representatives from the satellite 

4 industry; 

5 (iv) representatives from precision ag6 riculture equipment manufacturers, includ7 ing drone manufacturers, manufacturers of 

8 autonomous agricultural machinery, and 

9 manufacturers of farming robotics tech10 nologies; and 

11 (v) representatives from State and 

12 local governments; and 

13 (2) fairly balanced in terms of technologies, 

14 points of view, and fields represented on the Task 

15 Force. 

16 (e) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

17 on which the Commission establishes the Task Force, and 

18 annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to Con19 gress a report that details— 

20 (1) the status of fixed and mobile broadband 

21 Internet access service coverage of croplands and 

22 ranchlands; 

23 (2) the projected future connectivity needs of 

24 agricultural operations, farmers, and ranchers; and 


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1 (3) the steps being taken to accurately measure 

2 the availability of high speed broadband Internet ac3 cess service on croplands and ranchlands and the 

4 limitations of current, as of the date of the report, 

5 measurement processes. 

6 (f) EXISTING FUNDS.—The Commission shall use ex7 isting funds of the Commission to carry out the Task 

8 Force and the duties of the Commission under this sec9 tion. 

10 (g) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 

11 on January 1, 2025. 

Æ 


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