Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens agriculture-sector cybersecurity and builds regional capacity and workforce training, but requires new federal spending, limits eligible institutions, and may need sustained appropriations to avoid gaps while risking politicized research priorities.
Farmers and agricultural businesses will receive region-specific cybersecurity research, tools, and mitigation support that reduce the risk of crop and supply-chain disruptions from cyberattacks.
Land-grant universities and their students will get funding and partnerships to develop agriculture-focused cybersecurity curricula and hands-on training using live testbeds, strengthening the workforce pipeline for ag-cybersecurity.
Rural communities and regional economies will gain strengthened resilience and collaboration across industry, government, and academia to better protect local food systems and critical agricultural infrastructure.
Taxpayers will fund a $25 million per year program from FY2026–2030, increasing federal spending without specified offsets.
Operational centers and testbeds created by the program may require ongoing funding and coordination beyond the five-year authorization, risking service discontinuities if future appropriations lapse.
Limiting eligibility to land-grant universities may exclude capable nonprofits, private labs, and smaller institutions, narrowing competition and reducing regional coverage and innovation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates NIFA-funded grants to build five Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers, a national network, and a coordinating entity to research, detect, and defend the food system from cyber threats.
Introduced September 18, 2025 by Theodore Paul Budd · Last progress September 18, 2025
Creates a NIFA-run competitive grant program to fund five Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers, a national network linking them, and a coordinating entity to strengthen cybersecurity across the food and agriculture sector. The centers will do research, run security operations centers and testbeds, hold attack/defense exercises, provide training, and build regional collaboration, with an explicit focus on preventing cyberattacks originating from specified foreign adversaries. The bill authorizes $25 million per year for FY2026–2030 to carry out the program.