November 19, 2019 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has announced the appointment of the following individuals to serve on the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force):

Chair: Teddy Bekele, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer; Land O’Lakes

Vice Chair: Catherine Moyer, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager; Pioneer Communications

Members:

Michael Adelaine, Ph.D., Vice President for Technology and Security; South Dakota State University

Seth Arndorfer, Chief Executive Officer; Dakota Carrier Network

The Honorable Dale Artho, Commissioner; Deaf Smith County, TX

Andy Bater, Farmer; Fifth Estate Growers LLC

Peter Brent, Operations Manager and IT Director; New Vision Farms

Chris Chinn, Director, Missouri Department of Agriculture; Missouri Department of Agriculture

Anthony Dillard, Tribal Councilman; Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

David Goldman, Director of Satellite Policy; SpaceX

Michael Gomes, Vice President, Business Development –IoT; Topcon Agriculture

Daniel T. Leibfried, Director, Advanced Technology, Intelligent Solutions Group; John Deere

Mike McCormick, President; Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation

Jeff Pettit, President and CEO of Noash Construction, Inc.; National Association of Tower Erectors

Steve Vail, Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors; NineStar Connect

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, or a designee of the Secretary, will serve as an ex-officio, nonvoting member of the Task Force[1]

The Task Force will hold its first meeting on Monday, December 9, 2019, beginning at 9:30am, at FCC Headquarters. On tap for the first meeting will be introduction of members, a description of the focus of each Task Force working group, review of the 2018 Farm Bill and existing FCC and U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and policies relevant to the Task Force’s duties, and an initial discussion of strategies to advance broadband deployment on agricultural land and promote precision agriculture. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed online at www.fcc.gov/live.

Members of the public may submit comments to the Task Force in the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System, ECFS, at www.fcc.gov/ecfs. Comments to the Task Force should be filed in GN Docket No. 19-329

Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force Working Groups

The FCC has identified the following four working groups that will assist the Task Force in carrying out its work:[2]

(1) Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands – to This working group will develop recommendations that will allow the Task Force to measure and analyze connectivity on agricultural lands. The group also will develop recommendations that will allow the Task Force to: identify and measure current gaps in the availability of broadband Internet access service on agricultural lands; recommend specific steps that the Commission should take to obtain reliable and standardized data measurements of the availability of broadband Internet access service as may be necessary to target funding support, from future programs of the Commission dedicated to the deployment of broadband Internet access service, to unserved agricultural lands in need of broadband Internet access service; recommend specific steps that the Commission should consider to ensure that the expertise of the Secretary and available farm data are reflected in future programs of the Commission dedicated to the infrastructure deployment of broadband Internet access service and to direct available funding to unserved agricultural lands where needed; and prepare a report on an annual basis that details the status of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service coverage of agricultural lands and the steps being taken to accurately measure the availability of broadband Internet access service on agricultural lands and the limitations of current, as of the date of the report, measurement processes.

(2) Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture – This working group will develop recommendations that will allow the Task Force to weigh and prioritize connectivity needs of agricultural operations, farmers, and ranchers throughout its work, including specifically developing recommendations that will allow the Task Force to prepare a report on an annual basis that details the projected future connectivity needs of agricultural operations, farmers, and ranchers.

(3) Encouraging Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Availability of High-Quality Jobs on Connected Farms – This working group will develop recommendations that will allow the Task Force to encourage adoption of broadband and precision agriculture on farms and ranches and thereby address labor supply challenges and promote the availability of high-quality job opportunities, including specifically developing recommendations that will allow the Task Force to promote effective policy and regulatory solutions that encourage the adoption of broadband Internet access service on farms and ranches and promote precision agriculture.

(4) Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands – This working group will develop recommendations that will allow the Task Force to weigh policies and rules to accelerate broadband deployment on unserved agricultural land. The group also will develop recommendations that will allow the Task Force to: develop policy recommendations to promote the rapid, expanded deployment of broadband Internet access service on unserved agricultural lands, with a goal of achieving reliable capabilities on 95 percent of agricultural lands in the U.S. by 2025; recommend specific new rules or amendments to existing FCC rules that the Commission should issue to achieve the goals and purposes of the policy recommendations described above; and recommend specific steps that the Commission should consider to ensure that the expertise of the Secretary and available farm data are reflected in future programs of the Commission dedicated to the infrastructure deployment of broadband Internet access service and to direct available funding to unserved agricultural lands where needed.

Nominations for membership on these four working groups should be submitted to the FCC no later than December 3, 2019. Nominees for membership on the Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force do not need to reapply, as the FCC will consider existing Task Force nominees for membership on each of the four working groups. However, existing nominees should email PrecisionAgTF@fcc.gov to request consideration for a specific working group or, conversely, to request not to be considered for a specific working group. Working group members will serve at the discretion of the Chairman of the FCC, and must be willing to commit to serving on a working group for two years from the establishment date of the Task Force. Additional information about the working groups is available from the FCC’s Public Notice.

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[1] FCC Announces The Membership Of And First Meeting Of The Task Force For Reviewing The Connectivity And Technology Needs Of Precision Agriculture In The United States, GN Docket No. 19-329, Public Notice, DA 19-1187 (Nov. 19, 2019).

[2] FCC Announces And Solicits Nominations For Working Groups Of The Task Force For Reviewing The Connectivity And Technology Needs Of Precision Agriculture In The United States, GN Docket No. 19-329, Public Notice, DA 19-1188 (Nov. 19, 2019).