Feenstra and Panetta introduce legislation to help farmers buy the latest in precision farming technology – 107.3 KIOW blend
Sens. Deb Fischer (R-N) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) introduced accompanying legislation in the US Senate.
“Thanks to cutting-edge research at top universities in our country like Iowa State and other scientific advances, precision farming technology has become an important component of modern agriculture,” said Rep. Veenstra. “From sustainability efforts to improving yields, precision farming simultaneously helps Iowa farmers profit and succeed, protects our environment, and strengthens our rural economy. I am proud to help introduce the Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act with fellow Congressman Jimmy Panetta to ensure our farming community has access to Low interest loans to expand precision farming operations.”
“Although precision farming equipment has become essential to the future of our agriculture, it is evolving and can still be too expensive for many of our farmers,” said Rep. Panetta. “Our bipartisan Microcredit Act will provide dedicated funding so more in agriculture can buy and adopt precision farming technology. By making these types of tools easier to access, we can ensure that our farmers contribute to our resilience to climate change while continuing to provide food security for the world.”
American farmers must have access to the latest technology and equipment to remain competitive in global markets. PAL provides a comprehensive solution for American farmers to access the tools they need to monitor, manage, and optimize their operations and help advance climate-smart agriculture practices. “We thank U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Randy Veenstra for their leadership and commitment to America’s farmers, ranchers, and forests,” said Kip Ediberg, AEM’s senior vice president, Government and Industry Relations.
More specifically, this legislation would provide loans of up to $500,000 for 3-12 years at interest rates of less than 2% and create a list of acceptable precision farming techniques that are approved by the Farm Service Agency and covered by the USDA. This funding will also allow farmers to retrofit existing equipment with new technologies.
You can find the legislative text here.