Sponsors (2)
The bill expands precision‑agriculture broadband and data collection to bring high‑speed, secure connectivity and better targeting to rural farms, but it increases federal spending, imposes administrative and matching burdens on providers, and carries risks from mapping exclusions and data/privacy concerns.
Covered agricultural producers and rural farms gain access to targeted last‑mile broadband capable of at least 100/20 Mbps, enabling connected farm equipment and precision‑agriculture applications.
Policy makers, federal and state broadband programs (e.g., USDA/BEAD), and rural communities get more granular data on broadband availability, speeds, and on‑farm uses, improving targeting of investments, technical assistance, and program design.
Creates a permanent statutory program with authorized appropriations for 2025–2029, establishing a federal vehicle focused on expanding precision‑agriculture connectivity.
Taxpayers could face increased and open‑ended federal spending because the bill authorizes 'such sums as necessary' for 2025–2029 without a specified funding cap.
Providers and applicants—especially smaller providers—face administrative and compliance burdens (applications, documentation, milestones, cybersecurity certifications) and generally must provide non‑Federal matching funds (commonly ~20%), which can slow deployment or deter participation.
Excluding residences already listed as serviceable on broadband maps could lock in existing mapping errors and prevent assistance to farms or rural households that are in fact unserved.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes a Last Acre Program to promote last-mile broadband and precision agriculture connectivity and requires USDA to add farm broadband questions to NASS surveys and the Census of Agriculture.
Official title: Amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a last acre program, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 6, 2025 by Debra Fischer · Last progress May 6, 2025
Creates a new "Last Acre Program" in the Rural Electrification Act to advance precision agriculture connectivity and expand last-mile broadband to farm fields and farm sites, defines key terms (like covered producer, eligible land, limited-resource farmer, precision agriculture, covered provider), and directs USDA to add broadband-use questions to the Census of Agriculture and NASS computer-usage surveys. The bill sets program purposes and detailed definitions but does not itself appropriate funding or set eligibility, administrative, or grant rules in the text provided. The law also requires the Secretary of Agriculture to collect more detailed data about farm broadband subscriptions, speeds, and internet uses (including precision agriculture) to better measure connectivity on farms and inform future program implementation and policy decisions.