38 Nebraska Cattleman September 2023 Consider This Guest Editorial By U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) The 2023 Farm Bill: Continuing Nebraska’s Agricultural Legacy The history of the cattle business is intricately connected with the history of our state. A century and a half after Nebraska was conferred statehood, our ag producers now feed and fuel our country and the world. As a fourth-generation Nebraskan and our state’s senior senator, supporting that rich industry is one of my most valued commitments. I’ve spent the last few years and months hearing from family farmers and ranchers about how the federal government can better support them as we look to draft the new Farm Bill – which programs work, where the gaps are and what can be improved. In May, my colleague Sen. John Boozman (RArk.), the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, accompanied me to Nebraska to hear directly from our producers about what matters to them. Later in the summer, the entire Nebraska federal delegation held a Farm Bill tour, where we received more feedback from farmers and ranchers in the state. This feedback is baked into my contributions to the 2023 Farm Bill, a comprehensive package of ag legislation that will last through 2028. Nebraska producers are especially excited about our new frontier of agriculture as members of the 21st century – precision agriculture. Precision agriculture technologies help producers optimize their operations. They can monitor inputs like fertilizer or feed, reduce water usage and lower costs, among other benefits. Precision technology is the future of ag, and that future can be accessible to producers from a range of backgrounds if we create opportunities for them. Larger agricultural operations can better afford cutting-edge technology to increase their efficiency, but it can be more difficult for smaller family farms to make the necessary investments in these expensive technologies. My Precision Ag Loan (PAL) Act would expand access to cutting-edge technologies for family farmers and ranchers by giving them the opportunity to apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans. My second bill, the Producing Responsible Energy and Conservation Incentives and Solutions for the Environment (PRECISE) Act, would expand existing USDA programs to cover precision agriculture technologies. Both bills would make strides toward increasing access to precision ag technologies, which will benefit producers and consumers. Often, precision ag technology relies on broadband to operate successfully. The USDA Office of Rural Development hosts programs that support “last mile” broadband deployment, which connects broadband networks to rural households and businesses. These programs are critical, but they don’t do enough for farmers and ranchers operating agricultural technologies across acres of land. Our broadband access needs to expand from the last mile to the last acre, and that’s what my Linking Access to Spur Technology for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environments (LAST ACRE) Act would aim to accomplish. This legislation CONTINUED 〉
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