The House Agriculture Committee released a draft of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (the farm bill) on Feb. 13, which features a suite of proposals designed to support farmers, shore up markets, and ensure that the U.S. advances the deployment of precision agriculture solutions through the development of an industry standard.
As outlined under Section 6302, the Secretary of Agriculture will work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal Communications Commission to develop a set of voluntary industry-led precision agriculture standards “that will promote economies of scale and ease the burden of the adoption,” the bill stated.
The standards will take into account the demands of precision agriculture, connectivity needs, cybersecurity concerns, and the impact AI and wireless technologies will have on precision agriculture. Additionally, the standards will be evaluated to ensure that they are voluntary, developed in conjunction with relevant industry stakeholders, and “successfully encouraged the adoption of precision agriculture,” a year after development and every two years subsequently, the draft bill states.
“This bill provides modern policies for modern challenges and is shaped by years of listening to the needs of farmers, ranchers, and rural Americans. The farm bill affects our entire country, regardless of whether you live on a farm, and I look forward to seeing my colleagues in Congress work together to get this critical legislation across the finish line,” Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, shared in a statement.
The release of the draft 2026 farm bill follows the reintroduction of the Producing Responsible Energy and Conservation Incentives and Solutions for the Environment (PRECISE) Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation that would expand farmers’ access to precision ag tools through funding from the Conservation Loan and Guaranteed Loan Programs.
“Farmers are the best conservationists and stewards of their land. I’ve seen the impact of precision agriculture firsthand in Iowa, and this technology is essential to boosting crop yields while reducing input costs and environmental impacts. The bipartisan PRECISE Act will expand access to these proven tools through programs our farmers know and trust, and I’m proud to continue championing this critical issue as we look to get the next farm bill across the finish line for Iowa farmers,” Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), shared in a statement on the PRECISE Act.
