The FCC wants smarter farms.
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The Federal Communications Commission has formed a task force to look into how to deliver high-speed broadband for the agriculture industry. Better internet will unlock efficiency, innovation and improvements at farms and ranches, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a press release (PDF) Monday.
With faster connections comes the ability to better implement internet of things and smart farming capabilities. Pai said farmers with access to both fiber and wireless internet are using it to monitor food intake across cattle, analyze soil and send out drones to monitor potato farms.
Chairman @AjitPaiFCC announced the formation of a new task force dedicated to advising the Commission on policies aimed at delivering connectivity so that American agriculture producers can use and benefit from precision agriculture.
— The FCC (@FCC) June 17, 2019
“This is the present and the future of American agriculture and we must do whatever we can to support these producers and enhance precision agriculture,” Pai said.
The FCC’s Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States will work alongside the Department of Agriculture on developing policy recommendations. It will also consult with the agriculture and technology industries, and with experts.
The FCC is now looking for nominations for the 15-person task force. The task force should include representatives from internet services, satellite providers, state and local governments, agricultural production, electric cooperative industry, tribal agriculture, and precision agriculture equipment manufacturing, as well as coverage mapping experts, the agency said.
The goal is to achieve reliable connections on 95 percent of agricultural land by 2025.
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