I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1697 
To enhance the participation of precision agriculture in the United States, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 22, 2023 
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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Precision 
Agriculture Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADVANCED
WIRELESS
COMMUNICATIONS 
TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘advanced wireless com-
munications technology’’ means advanced technology 
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that contributes to mobile (5G or beyond) networks, 
next-generation Wi-Fi networks, or other future net-
works using other technologies, regardless of wheth-
er the network is operating on an exclusive licensed, 
shared licensed, or unlicensed frequency band. 
(2) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘ar-
tificial 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 pat-
tern or serious instances of conduct significantly ad-
verse to the national security of the United States, 
or security and safety of United States persons. 
(4) PRECISION AGRICULTURE.—The term ‘‘pre-
cision agriculture’’ means managing, tracking, or re-
ducing 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 tem-
poral granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce 
waste, and maintain environmental quality. 
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(5) PRECISION
AGRICULTURE
EQUIPMENT.— 
The term ‘‘precision agriculture equipment’’ means 
any equipment or technology that directly contrib-
utes to a reduction in, or improved efficiency of, in-
puts used in crop or livestock production, includ-
ing— 
(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 ad-
vanced analytics; 
(H) network connectivity products and so-
lutions, 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 
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(K) any other technology that leads to a 
reduction in, or improves efficiency of, crop and 
livestock production inputs, which may in-
clude— 
(i) seed; 
(ii) feed; 
(iii) fertilizer; 
(iv) chemicals; 
(v) water; 
(vi) time; 
(vii) fuel; and 
(viii) such other inputs as the Sec-
retary 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 communica-
tions service or a supplier of communications equip-
ment or service, that the Secretary has determined 
that the provider or supplier is not owned by, con-
trolled by, or subject to the influence of, a foreign 
adversary. 
(8) VOLUNTARY
CONSENSUS
STANDARDS
DE-
VELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘voluntary 
consensus 
standards 
development 
organization’’ 
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means an organization that develops standards in a 
process that meets the principles for the develop-
ment of voluntary consensus standards (as defined 
in the document of the Office of Management and 
Budget entitled ‘‘Federal Participation in the Devel-
opment 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 ag-
riculture in the United States; and 
(2) to promote United States leadership in vol-
untary consensus standards development organiza-
tions 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 consulta-
tion with the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards 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 
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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 vol-
untary consensus standards development orga-
nizations; 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 Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology, consider— 
(1) the evolving demands of precision agri-
culture; 
(2) the connectivity needs of precision agri-
culture equipment; 
(3) the cybersecurity challenges facing precision 
agriculture, including cybersecurity threats for agri-
culture producers and agriculture supply chains; 
(4) the impact of advanced wireless communica-
tions technology on precision agriculture; and 
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(5) the impact of artificial intelligence on preci-
sion agriculture. 
SEC. 5. GAO ASSESSMENT OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE 
STANDARDS. 
(a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the Sec-
retary 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 con-
sensus 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 Com-
merce, 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 re-
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port that summarizes the findings of each study conducted 
under subsection (a). 
Æ 
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