I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 725

To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act to

provide increased emphasis on competitive grants to promote agricultural

research projects regarding precision agriculture and to provide for the

dissemination of the results of such research projects.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 12, 1997

Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky (for himself, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BUNNING, Mr.

NETHERCUTT, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr.

HOSTETTLER, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. HEFNER, Mr. LEACH,

Mr. HOLDEN, Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr. EWING, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. NEY, Mr. EVANS, Mr. POSHARD, and Mr. PASTOR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research

Grant Act to provide increased emphasis on competitive

grants to promote agricultural research projects regarding precision agriculture and to provide for the dissemination of the results of such research projects.

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

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

3 Research, Education, and Information Dissemination Act

4 of 1997’’.

5 SEC. 2. EMPHASIS ON COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO PROMOTE

6 PRECISION AGRICULTURE.

7 (a) PROMOTION OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE.—Sub8 section (k) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Re9 search Grant Act (section 2 of Public Law 89–106; 7

10 U.S.C. 450i) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(k) EMPHASIS ON PRECISION AGRICULTURE.—

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec13 tion:

14 ‘‘(A) PRECISION AGRICULTURE.—The term

15 ‘precision agriculture’ means an integrated

16 information- and production-based farming sys17 tem that is designed to increase long-term, site

18 specific and whole farm production efficiencies,

19 productivity, and profitability while minimizing

20 unintended impacts on wildlife and the environ21 ment by—

22 ‘‘(i) combining agricultural sciences,

23 agricultural inputs and practices, agro24 nomic production databases, and precision

25 agriculture technologies to efficiently man26 age agronomic systems;
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1 ‘‘(ii) gathering on-farm information

2 pertaining to the variation and interaction

3 of site-specific spatial and temporal factors

4 affecting crop production;

5 ‘‘(iii) integrating such information

6 with appropriate data derived from remote

7 sensing and other precision agriculture

8 technologies in a timely manner in order to

9 facilitate on-farm decisionmaking; and

10 ‘‘(iv) using such information to pre11 scribe and deliver site-specific application

12 of agricultural inputs and management

13 practices in agricultural production sys14 tems.

15 ‘‘(B) PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECH16 NOLOGIES.—The term ‘precision agriculture

17 technologies’ includes—

18 ‘‘(i) instrumentation and techniques

19 ranging from sophisticated sensors and

20 software systems to manual sampling and

21 data collection tools that measure, record,

22 and manage spatial and temporal data;

23 ‘‘(ii) technologies for searching out

24 and assembling information necessary for
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1 sound agricultural production decision

2 making;

3 ‘‘(iii) open systems technologies for

4 data networking and processing that

5 produce valued systems for farm manage6 ment decisionmaking, including high band7 width networks, distributed processing,

8 spatial databasing, object technology, glob9 al positioning systems, data modeling, high

10 performance image processing, high resolu11 tion satellite imagery, digital

12 orthophotogrammetry simulation, geo13 graphic information systems, computer

14 aided design, and digital cartography; and

15 ‘‘(iv) machines that deliver informa16 tion based management practices, includ17 ing global positioning satellites, digital

18 field mapping, on-the-go yield monitoring,

19 automated pest scouting, and site-specific

20 agricultural input application to accom21 plish the objectives of precision agriculture.

22 ‘‘(C) ADVISORY BOARD.—The term ‘advi23 sory board’ means the National Agricultural

24 Research, Extension, Education, and Econom25 ics Advisory Board established under section
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1 1408 of the National Agricultural Research,

2 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

3 U.S.C. 3123).

4 ‘‘(D) AGRICULTURAL INPUTS.—The term

5 ‘agricultural inputs’ includes all farm manage6 ment, agronomic, and field applied agricultural

7 production inputs, such as machinery, labor,

8 time, fuel, irrigation water, commercial nutri9 ents, livestock waste, crop protection chemicals,

10 agronomic data and information, application

11 and management services, seed, and other in12 puts used in agriculture production.

13 ‘‘(E) SYSTEMS RESEARCH.—The term ‘sys14 tems research’ means an integrated, coordi15 nated, and iterative investigative process, which

16 considers the multiple interacting components

17 and aspects of precision agriculture systems, in18 cluding synthesis of new knowledge regarding

19 the physical-chemical-biological processes and

20 complex interactions with cropping and natural

21 resource systems, precision agriculture tech22 nologies development and implementation, data

23 and information collection and interpretation,
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1 production scale planning, production-scale im2 plementation, and farm production efficiencies,

3 productivity, and profitability.

4 ‘‘(2) EMPHASIS ON RESEARCH, EDUCATION,

5 AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION GRANTS.—The

6 Secretary of Agriculture, in collaboration with the

7 advisory board, shall ensure that research, edu8 cation, and information dissemination grants made

9 under subsections (b) are, where appropriate, con10 sistent with the development and promotion of preci11 sion agriculture. Research, education, and informa12 tion dissemination projects supported by such grants

13 and designed to develop and demonstrate precision

14 agriculture shall address one or more of the follow15 ing:

16 ‘‘(A) The study and promotion of compo17 nents of precision agriculture technologies using

18 a systems research approach that would in19 crease long-term, site-specified and whole farm

20 production efficiencies, productivity, profit21 ability.

22 ‘‘(B) The improvement in the understand23 ing of agronomic systems, including, soil, water,

24 land cover, and meteorological variability.
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1 ‘‘(C) The development, demonstration, and

2 dissemination of information regarding preci3 sion agriculture technologies and systems into

4 an integrated program.

5 ‘‘(D) The promotion of systems research

6 and education projects focusing on the integra7 tion of the multiple aspects of precision agri8 culture, including development, production-scale

9 implementation, and farm production effi10 ciencies, productivity, and profitability.

11 ‘‘(E) The education of agricultural produc12 ers and consumers regarding the benefits of

13 precision agriculture as it relates to increased

14 long-term farm production efficiencies, produc15 tivity, profitability, as well as the maintenance

16 of the environment and improvements in inter17 national trade.

18 ‘‘(F) The provision of training and edu19 cational programs for State cooperative exten20 sion services agents, agricultural producers, ag21 ricultural input machinery, product, and service

22 providers, certified crop advisers and other pro23 fessionals involved in the agricultural produc24 tion and transfer of integrated precision agri25 culture technology.
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1 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES FOR RESEARCH, EDUCATION,

2 AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION GRANTS.—In

3 making grants to eligible entities under subsection

4 (b) regarding precision agriculture, the Secretary, in

5 collaboration with the advisory board, shall give pri6 ority to research, education, and information dis7 semination projects that are designed to accomplish

8 the following:

9 ‘‘(A) The use of precision agriculture tech10 nologies and a systems research approach to in11 crease long-term site-specific and whole farm

12 production efficiencies, productivity, profit13 ability.

14 ‘‘(B) The integration of research, edu15 cation, and information dissemination compo16 nents in a practical and readily available man17 ner so that the findings of the project will be

18 made readily usable by farmers.

19 ‘‘(C) The promotion of the efficient use of

20 agricultural inputs, rather than the uniform re21 duction in the use of agricultural inputs.

22 ‘‘(D) The maximization of the involvement

23 and cooperation of precision agriculture produc24 ers, certified crop advisers, State cooperative

25 extension services agents, and agricultural input
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1 machinery, product and service providers in

2 precision agriculture systems research projects

3 involving on-farm research, education, and in4 formation dissemination of precision agri5 culture.

6 ‘‘(E) The cooperation among farms that

7 are managed using precision agriculture farm

8 production practices, nonprofit organizations,

9 agribusiness, agricultural input machinery,

10 product, and service providers, land-grant col11 leges and universities, the State cooperative ex12 tension services, and Government agencies (in13 cluding National laboratories).

14 ‘‘(F) The benefits of precision agriculture

15 in relationship to global food production, reduc16 ing world hunger, world population trends, and

17 efforts to maintain and enhance the environ18 ment.

19 ‘‘(G) The diversity of United States agri20 cultural production, including production on

21 family owned and operated farms, large acreage

22 farms, small acreage farms, and mixed crop,

23 specialty crop, commodity crop, and livestock

24 operations.
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1 ‘‘(H) The maximization of collaboration

2 with multiple agencies and other partners that

3 include leveraging of funds and resources.

4 ‘‘(4) EDUCATION AND INFORMATION DISSEMI5 NATION.—

6 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR

7 PROJECTS.—Of the funds allocated for competi8 tive research grants under subsection (b) relat9 ed to precision agriculture, the Secretary shall

10 reserve a portion of such funds for education

11 and information dissemination projects regard12 ing precision agriculture.

13 ‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE WITH PRIORITIES FOR

14 INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—In the dissemi15 nation of information derived from research

16 projects regarding precision agriculture that are

17 supported by grants made under subsection (b),

18 the Secretary shall ensure that both employees

19 of the Department of Agriculture and grant re20 cipients comply with the priorities specified in

21 paragraph (3).

22 ‘‘(5) PRECISION AGRICULTURE PARTNER23 SHIPS.—

24 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—For the purposes

25 of this section, the Secretary, in collaboration
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1 with the advisory board, shall encourage the es2 tablishment of appropriate multi-state and na3 tional partnerships or consortia between—

4 ‘‘(i) land-grant colleges and univer5 sities, State Agricultural Experiment Sta6 tions, State cooperative extension services,

7 other colleges and universities with demon8 strable expertise regarding precision agri9 culture, agencies of the Department of Ag10 riculture, National laboratories, agri11 businesses, agricultural equipment and

12 input manufacturers and retailers, certified

13 crop advisers, commodity organizations,

14 other Federal or State government entities

15 and agencies, and non-agricultural indus16 tries and nonprofit organizations with de17 monstrable expertise regarding precision

18 agriculture; and

19 ‘‘(ii) the persons and entities de20 scribed in clause (i) and agricultural pro21 ducers and other land managers.
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1 ‘‘(B) PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN NATIONAL

2 LABORATORIES AND DEPARTMENT OF AGRI3 CULTURE.—The partnerships established pursu4 ant to this paragraph shall include the partner5 ship entered into (before the date of the enact6 ment of this paragraph) by the Secretary of

7 Energy, on behalf of the National laboratories,

8 and the Secretary of Agriculture to promote co9 operation and coordination between the Na10 tional laboratories and agencies of the Depart11 ment of Agriculture in the areas of systems re12 search, technology research and development,

13 and the transfer, utilization, and private-sector

14 commercialization of technology.

15 ‘‘(C) ROLE OF PARTNERSHIPS.—Partner16 ships described in subparagraphs (A) and (B)

17 shall be eligible grantees for conducting systems

18 research (including on-farm research) regarding

19 precision agriculture and precision agriculture

20 technologies.

21 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH

22 GRANTS.—As part of a research project regarding

23 precision agriculture that is funded under subsection

24 (b), the grant recipient shall agree to perform the

25 following, to the extent practicable:
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1 ‘‘(A) Study precision agriculture produc2 tion systems that are located in areas that pos3 sess diverse crop, soil, climate, and physical

4 characteristics.

5 ‘‘(B) Study farms that are or have been

6 managed using precision agriculture farm pro7 duction practices that rely on the efficient use

8 of agricultural inputs and precision agriculture

9 technologies to increase farm production effi10 ciency, productivity, and profitability.

11 ‘‘(C) Conduct demonstration projects on

12 farms that will be managed using precision ag13 riculture.

14 ‘‘(D) Take advantage of the experience and

15 expertise of agricultural producers through

16 their direct participation and leadership in

17 projects.

18 ‘‘(E) Utilize advanced access and commu19 nications technologies to transfer practical, reli20 able, and timely information to agricultural pro21 ducers concerning precision agriculture prac22 tices, technologies, and systems.

23 ‘‘(F) Promote partnerships among produc24 ers, nonprofit organizations, agribusinesses, ag25 ricultural input machinery, product, and service
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1 providers, colleges and universities, the State

2 cooperative extension services, and Government

3 agencies (including National laboratories).’’.

4 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (l) of

5 the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant

6 Act (section 2 of Public Law 89–106; 7 U.S.C. 450i) is

7 amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(l) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS OF GRANT RECIPI9 ENTS.—In addition to the record keeping responsibilities

10 of recipients of assistance under this section, as prescribed

11 by the Secretary under subsection (f), the Secretary shall

12 prescribe regulations to require grant recipients to submit

13 to the Secretary periodic reports regarding the research,

14 education, and information dissemination activities sup15 ported with such assistance so as to enhance the useful16 ness of the monitoring and evaluation system developed

17 by the Secretary under section 1413A(b) of the National

18 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy

19 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3129(b)).’’.

20 (c) ENTITIES ELIGIBLE FOR GRANTS.—Subsection

21 (b)(1) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research

22 Grant Act (section 2 of Public Law 89–106; 7 U.S.C.

23 450i) is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting after ‘‘Federal agencies’’ the

2 following: ‘‘(including National laboratories as de3 fined in section 12(d)(2) of the Stevenson-Wydler

4 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.

5 3710a(d)(2)))’’; and

6 (2) by inserting after ‘‘corporations’’ the follow7 ing: ‘‘(including agricultural input machinery, prod8 uct, and service providers)’’.

9 (d) PRECISION AGRICULTURE RESEARCH, EXTEN10 SION, AND EDUCATION, UNDER FUND FOR RURAL AMER11 ICA.—Section 793(c)(2)(A) of the Federal Agriculture Im12 provement and Reform Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–127;

13 7 U.S.C. 2204f(c)(2)(A)) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (vii);

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

16 (viii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

17 (3) by inserting after clause (viii) the following

18 new clause:

19 ‘‘(ix) develop and promote precision

20 agriculture and precision agriculture tech21 nologies using a systems research ap22 proach, as such terms are defined in sub23 section (k)(1) of the Competitive, Special,

24 and Facilities Research Grant Act (section

25 2 of Public Law 89–106; 7 U.S.C. 450i).’’.
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1 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b)(9)(A)

2 of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant

3 Act (section 2 of Public Law 89–106; 7 U.S.C. 450i) is

4 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (j)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub5 section (k)’’.

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