DRAFT - Sustainable Infrastructure Recommendations

Recommendation 1: The federal government should consider subsidizing the use of IoT in farms.

Description:

The federal government should consider programs to help growers and producers adopt IoT 

technologies. This should include subsidies around connectivity, sensors, and digital applications. The 

programs could be similar to other subsidies that the USDA has for farmers around agricultural inputs or 

climate smart agriculture. The use of IoT in agriculture will benefit all stakeholders, including the farmer, 

the policy makers, the agricultural companies, and the consumer. 

Justification: 

• The upfront cost of IoT typically limits the adoption of data-driven agriculture

• Subsidies can help scale the technology, which will drive down costs. 

Implementation Considerations:

• Public/private/academia partnership

• This should leverage Ag Extension Centers as well

• Marginalized farmers and smallholder farmers might need more help to leverage this 

technology

• Should we make it specific to applications of IoT in Ag, e.g. for Water, Climate, Carbon

Potential implementation barriers:

• Limited expertise in the market and industry; resources and expertise may be difficult to secure

Possible participating agencies:

As agriculture impacts sustainability and water, and biofuels, it cuts across the scope of multiple federal 

agencies, there should be participation, support and coordination from multiple agencies, including:

• Department of Energy (biofuels, carbon emissions, etc.)

• Department of Commerce/NIST (standards, cybersecurity, GCTC, regulatory, etc.)

• USDA, FSA (NIFA grants, extensions, etc.)

• NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Services)

Federal considerations:

• Role of states should be defined. In particular, some BIL and IRA funding may be given to states 

to manage and allocate. 

• This could make a good addition to the Farm Bill of 2023

Recommendation 2: The federal government should consider fully funding the deployment of a “farm 

of the future” setup in every land grant university nationwide. This nationwide test-farm IoT network

should span different forms of agriculture, including, but not limited to broadacre, horticulture, 

livestock, and aquaculture.

Description:

The proposed initiative advocates for the federal government to allocate sufficient funding to 

implement a "farm of the future" setup in all land grant universities across the United States. This would 

involve creating a comprehensive IoT network that spans various forms of agriculture, such as 

broadacre, horticulture, livestock, and aquaculture. By establishing a nationwide test-farm IoT network, 

the government can significantly enhance agricultural productivity, while also promoting sustainable 
DRAFT - Sustainable Infrastructure Recommendations

agricultural practices. The implementation of this initiative will require substantial financial investments 

from the federal government. However, the benefits of having a comprehensive agricultural data 

network in place will likely lead to better decision-making, increased efficiency, and improved 

sustainability across the agricultural sector.

Justification:

The implementation of a nationwide "farm of the future" IoT network in land grant universities would 

be tremendously useful in several ways.

• First, it would become a showcase for farmers in the region on how to collect and analyze data 

from their farms. This will enable farmers to collect and analyze vast amount of real-time data 

about crops, livestock, and farm operations. This would allow them to monitor the health and 

growth of their plants and animals more closely, identify issues early on, and make informed 

decisions about how to optimize their yield and reduce waste. 

• Second, the data collected by the IoT network could be used to develop and refine machine 

learning algorithms, which could help farmers predict future crop yields and identify potential 

issues before they occur. This would enable farmers to be more proactive in their approach to 

crop management, leading to more efficient use of resources, reduced costs, and improved 

sustainability.

• Third, the nationwide "farm of the future" IoT network would enable universities to share data 

and insights with each other more easily, fostering a collaborative approach to agriculture. This 

could lead to the development of new best practices, improved knowledge sharing, and a more 

cohesive and sustainable agricultural industry overall.

• Finally, the implementation of a nationwide IoT network in land grant universities could help to 

advance research and development in agriculture, leading to the creation of new technologies 

and practices that could benefit farmers and consumers alike. This could include everything 

from new crop varieties that are more resilient to climate change, to new precision farming 

tools that enable farmers to more accurately target their use of resources.

Implementation considerations:

• While it is easy to say “you shall incorporate IoT technologies”, it is more difficult to specify what 

IoT technologies should be acceptable to be used. Some concrete and specific IoT applications 

should be defined for inclusion in the project and funding requirements, based on project types.

This may require coordination with other federal agencies in alignment with their objectives.

• Different land grant universities might pose different challenges with respect to 

implementation, including connectivity, tech readiness, etc. 

• It is important to include every university, including the HBCUs.

Potential implementation barriers:

• Project owners may have limited IoT awareness of knowledge

• Limited expertise and resources in marketplace to support IoT in the projects

• How much will it cost? [connected combine + aquaculture] e.g. 100 land grant universities

Possible participating agencies

• All federal agencies that provide grants and funding for projects where IoT may be incorporated, 

including the USDA, DOE (for biofuels)

Federal considerations:
DRAFT - Sustainable Infrastructure Recommendations

• IoT may introduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities into the project or system, so some minimal 

requirements for cybersecurity should be defined and specified for the IoT and smart 

technologies to be incorporated.

Recommendation 3: The federal government should consider funding models for sustaining and 

support beyond the initial acquisition and building of new projects.

 

Recommendation 4: The federal government should consider increasing funding and accelerating 

implementation of broadband deployment across rural America.

Description:

The federal government currently offers limited funding and grants (ex. Department of Agriculture –

Community Connect Grant Program) to help fund broadband deployment in rural communities, 

however, these opportunities have not advanced quickly enough to provide broadband coverage for 

certain areas of rural America. Increasing the broadband infrastructure across the U.S. will be a critical 

component for IoT connectivity in agriculture. 

Justification: 

• A recent USDA report reported that 60% of US farmland doesn’t have good Internet connectivity

• Point to point solutions, or satellite-based connectivity, quickly become expensive, and do not 

get connectivity to the middle of the farm

Implementation Considerations:

• Mandate broadband infrastructure deployment across rural areas until U.S. coverage is 

complete.

• Current federal funding operates across several programs making it difficult to identify and find 

the opportunities available to specific areas. Although there are initiatives to increase 

awareness of the funding, the processes need to be simplified to accelerate implementation.

• Funding may include options for supplying energy sources such as solar power, wind power, or 

micro-hydro power where access to reliable electricity is limited.

• Taking advantage of modern communications tech, such as 5G MBB, fixed wireless, LEO 

satellites to the farm

• Agricultural specific needs, e.g. more uplink than downlink

Potential implementation barriers:

• May be limited to eligible service providers in certain areas

Possible participating agencies:

• All federal agencies that provide grants and funding for projects where IoT may be incorporated, 

including the USDA, DOE (for biofuels)

Federal considerations:

• How to improve the already available broadband funding in order for connectivity across rural 

America to keep up with technology advancement for IoT. 

•
DRAFT - Sustainable Infrastructure Recommendations

Other:

• Labor shortage

• automation