Pai announces precision agriculture working groups

On March 12, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the names of members of four new working groups on precision agriculture, part of the Precision Agriculture Task Force. The names of the working group members are available in the Public Notice released by the Wireline Competition Bureau at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-260A1.pdf.

The Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States has four working groups:

1. Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands;

2. Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture;

3. Encouraging Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Availability of High-Quality Jobs on Connected Farms; and

4. Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands.

The names were chosen after consultation with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

Pai said, “As I’ve traveled across rural America, I’ve been impressed and inspired by the many ways American farmers and ranchers are leveraging modern technology to innovate and power today’s agricultural economy. For instance, I’ve visited an autonomous farm in Horace, North Dakota. In Greensboro, Vermont, I learned how an artisanal cheese company uses modern technology. And I saw a farm in Charles City, Virginia, which has used cellular and GPS applications to bring in a record corn yield. Ingenuity like this helps bring better, cheaper food to the table, is more environmentally friendly, and makes America’s agricultural sector more competitive internationally. The FCC must play a constructive role in promoting these efforts and supporting investment in high-speed internet in ways that specifically help precision agriculture.”

 “The FCC understands the importance of precision agriculture to the nation’s economy and wants to encourage its growth across the country. That’s why I recently proposed a $9 billion 5G Fund to support next generation wireless services, which will include $1 billion specifically targeted toward precision agriculture. In addition, we’ve set up this important Task Force so we and others can learn from the on-the-ground practical experiences of those using technology in modern farming. My thanks to those who are joining these important working groups and to Secretary Perdue and his team for their commitment to this effort.”

The next meeting of the Task Force is March 25 and will be wholly electronic at https://go.usa.gov/xd6m2.

David Murray can be reached at [email protected].