What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new loan program to help farmers and ranchers buy precision agriculture technology. The bill amends an existing farm law to establish the program and requires the Department of Agriculture to administer it. Precision agriculture technology helps producers manage their farming inputs like water, fertilizer and seeds more efficiently while improving environmental quality.
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Who It Affects
* Farmers and ranchers who raise livestock or grow crops
* The Department of Agriculture and its Farm Service Agency
* Congress members who receive annual reports about the program
* Agricultural producers of all ages, farm sizes and backgrounds
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Key Provisions
* The Secretary of Agriculture must establish a precision agriculture loan program to provide funds to crop and livestock producers for buying precision agriculture technology (Sec. 1614A(c))
* Eligible producers must have a satisfactory credit history, use loan funds only to purchase precision agriculture technology, and show they can repay the loan (Sec. 1614A(e))
* The maximum loan amount is $500,000 and loans cannot last longer than 12 years (Sec. 1614A(g) and 1614A(f))
* Borrowers must provide loan security to the Secretary either as a lien on the technology being purchased or other acceptable security (Sec. 1614A(h))
* The Secretary must submit annual reports to four congressional committees about loans made, including data on producer age, farm size, race, ethnicity, gender, default rates and environmental benefits (Sec. 1614A(i))
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the Department of Agriculture will create a new loan program for the first time specifically for precision agriculture purchases. Farmers and ranchers will have access to government-backed loans up to $500,000 to buy technologies like GPS guidance systems, soil mapping equipment, sensors and data management software. The Department must begin reporting annually to Congress on how the program is being used and what results it produces.
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Important Definitions
* **Precision agriculture:** Managing, tracking or reducing crop or livestock production inputs like seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water and time using advanced tracking methods to improve efficiency, reduce waste and maintain or improve environmental quality (Sec. 1614A(b)(1))
* **Precision agriculture technology:** Any technology or equipment that reduces or improves efficiency of production inputs, including GPS-based mapping, satellite imagery, soil mapping, sensors, data management software, connectivity products, auto-steer systems and variable rate technology (Sec. 1614A(b)(2))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
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, Nu-
trition, 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Precision Agriculture
4
Loan Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. PRECISION AGRICULTURE LOAN PROGRAM.
6
Subtitle F of title I of the Food, Conservation, and
7
Energy Act of 2008 is amended by inserting after section
8
1614 (7 U.S.C. 8789) the following:
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•S 719 IS
‘‘SEC. 1614A. PRECISION AGRICULTURE LOAN PROGRAM.
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‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
2
gress that—
3
‘‘(1) producers depend on a healthy environ-
4
ment to effectively produce the food and fiber need-
5
ed for all communities;
6
‘‘(2) precision agriculture technologies can—
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‘‘(A) provide producers with better insight
8
into the health of the environment of the pro-
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ducer; and
10
‘‘(B) allow producers to make more in-
11
formed decisions that improve efficiencies, re-
12
duce waste, and improve environmental quality
13
in a manner that benefits both nature and the
14
financial well-being of the producer;
15
‘‘(3) the adoption of precision agriculture tech-
16
nologies has already demonstrated that farmers and
17
ranchers can produce crops in a manner that uses
18
less water, reduces soil erosion, and mitigates green-
19
house gas emissions while increasing carbon seques-
20
tration, water quality, and yields; and
21
‘‘(4) the Department of Agriculture should seek
22
to address hurdles to producers seeking to adopt
23
precision agriculture technologies that allows for
24
broader adoption of these technologies that provide
25
benefits for both producers and the environment.
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‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
1
‘‘(1) PRECISION
AGRICULTURE.—The term
2
‘precision agriculture’ means managing, tracking, or
3
reducing crop or livestock production inputs, includ-
4
ing seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time,
5
at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granu-
6
larity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and
7
maintain or improve environmental quality.
8
‘‘(2) PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY.—
9
The term ‘precision agriculture technology’ means
10
any technology (including equipment that is nec-
11
essary for the deployment of that technology) that
12
directly contributes to a reduction in, or improved
13
efficiency of, inputs used in crop or livestock produc-
14
tion, including—
15
‘‘(A) Global Positioning System-based or
16
geospatial mapping;
17
‘‘(B) satellite or aerial imagery;
18
‘‘(C) yield monitors;
19
‘‘(D) soil mapping;
20
‘‘(E) sensors for gathering data on crop,
21
soil, or livestock conditions;
22
‘‘(F) Internet of Things and telematics
23
technologies;
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‘‘(G) data management software and ad-
1
vanced analytics;
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‘‘(H) network connectivity products and
3
solutions;
4
‘‘(I) Global Positioning System guidance or
5
auto-steer systems;
6
‘‘(J) variable rate technology for applying
7
inputs, such as section control; and
8
‘‘(K) any other technology, as determined
9
by the Secretary, that leads to a reduction in,
10
or improves efficiency of, crop and livestock
11
production inputs, which may include seed,
12
feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time.
13
‘‘(c) PROGRAM.—As soon as practicable after the
14
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall es-
15
tablish a precision agriculture loan program to encourage
16
the adoption of precision agriculture by providing funds
17
to producers engaged in livestock or crop production for
18
the purchase of precision agriculture technology.
19
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—The precision agriculture
20
loan program under this section shall be administered by
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the Secretary, acting through the Deputy Administrator
22
for Farm Programs of the Farm Service Agency.
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‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.—A precision agriculture
24
loan under this section shall be made available to any pro-
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•S 719 IS
ducer described in subsection (c) that, as determined by
1
the Secretary—
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‘‘(1) has a satisfactory credit history;
3
‘‘(2) will use the loan funds to purchase preci-
4
sion agriculture technology; and
5
‘‘(3) demonstrates an ability to repay the loan.
6
‘‘(f) TERM OF LOANS.—A precision agriculture loan
7
under this section shall have a maximum term of 12 years.
8
‘‘(g) LOAN AMOUNT.—The maximum aggregate loan
9
amount of a precision agriculture loan under this section
10
shall be $500,000.
11
‘‘(h) LOAN SECURITY.—Approval of a precision agri-
12
culture loan under this section shall require the borrower
13
to provide loan security to the Secretary, in the form of—
14
‘‘(1) a lien on the precision agriculture tech-
15
nology being purchased; or
16
‘‘(2) such other security as is acceptable to the
17
Secretary.
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‘‘(i) REPORTING.—
19
‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF RECIPIENT PRODUCER.—
20
In this subsection, the term ‘recipient producer’
21
means an eligible producer described in subsection
22
(e) that received a precision agriculture loan under
23
this section during the fiscal year covered by the ap-
24
plicable report prepared under paragraph (2).
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‘‘(2) PREPARATION OF REPORT.—For each fis-
1
cal year, the Secretary shall prepare a report that
2
includes—
3
‘‘(A) aggregate data based on a review of
4
each outstanding loan made by the Secretary
5
under this section; and
6
‘‘(B) a description of—
7
‘‘(i) for the United States and for
8
each State and county (or equivalent juris-
9
diction) in the United States—
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‘‘(I) the age of each recipient
11
producer;
12
‘‘(II) the duration during which
13
each recipient producer has engaged
14
in agricultural production;
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‘‘(III) the size of the farm or
16
ranch of each recipient producer;
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‘‘(IV) the total amount provided
18
as loans under this section for each
19
category of equipment or technology
20
described
in
subparagraphs
(A)
21
through (K) of subsection (b)(2) dur-
22
ing the fiscal year covered by the re-
23
port;
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‘‘(V) the estimated input reduced
1
or environmental benefits received per
2
category of equipment or technology
3
described in those subparagraphs with
4
respect to which a loan was provided
5
under this section during the fiscal
6
year covered by the report or any
7
prior fiscal year, including the esti-
8
mated input reduced or environmental
9
benefits received per category—
10
‘‘(aa) during the fiscal year
11
covered by the report with re-
12
spect to—
13
‘‘(AA) loans provided
14
under this section during
15
that fiscal year; and
16
‘‘(BB) loans provided
17
under this section during
18
that fiscal year or any prior
19
fiscal year; and
20
‘‘(bb) in the aggregate with
21
respect to all loans provided
22
under this section during or prior
23
to the fiscal year covered by the
24
report;
25
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•S 719 IS
‘‘(VI) the race, ethnicity, and
1
gender of each recipient producer;
2
‘‘(VII) the 1 or more agricultural
3
commodities or types of enterprise for
4
which each loan provided under this
5
section during the fiscal year was pro-
6
vided;
7
‘‘(VIII) the amount of each loan
8
provided under this section during the
9
fiscal year; and
10
‘‘(IX) the default rate of the
11
loans made under this section dur-
12
ing—
13
‘‘(aa) the fiscal year covered
14
by the report;
15
‘‘(bb) each preceding fiscal
16
year; and
17
‘‘(cc) in the aggregate with
18
respect to all loans provided
19
under this section during or prior
20
to the fiscal year covered by the
21
report; and
22
‘‘(ii) for each State and county (or
23
equivalent jurisdiction) in the United
24
States, the number of outstanding loans
25
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made under this section, according to the
1
loan size cohort.
2
‘‘(3) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The Secretary
3
shall—
4
‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date
5
of enactment of this Act, and annually there-
6
after, submit the report described in paragraph
7
(2) to—
8
‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture,
9
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
10
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations
11
of the Senate;
12
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Agriculture of
13
the House of Representatives; and
14
‘‘(iv) the Committee on Appropria-
15
tions of the House of Representatives; and
16
‘‘(B) not later than 90 days after the date
17
on which the report is submitted under sub-
18
paragraph (A), make the report publicly avail-
19
able.
20
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
21
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such
22
sums as are necessary to carry out this section.’’.
23
Æ
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