FCC Chairman Pai Names Leaders of Precision Agriculture Task Force Working Groups

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the leadership of the four working groups that will support the work of the FCC’s new Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture. The Task Force will hold its first meeting on Dec 9. 

Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands will help identify connectivity gaps on agricultural lands.

• Chair: Michael Adelaine, Ph.D., Vice President for Technology and Security; South Dakota State University
• Vice Chair: Sreekala Bajwa, Ph.D., Vice President, Dean & Director; College of Agriculture & Montana Agricultural Experiment Station; Montana State University

Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision: Agriculture will help identify the current and future connectivity needs for precision agriculture applications and identify how those needs may vary for different agricultural producers.

• Chair: Daniel T. Leibfried, Director Advanced Technology, Intelligent Solutions Group; John Deere
• Vice Chair: Blake Hurst, President Missouri Farm Bureau

The Encouraging Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Availability of High-Quality Jobs on Connected Farms working group will explore how to promote adoption of precision agriculture technologies and how such technologies will affect demand for skilled labor in the farming and ranching sectors.

• Chair: Mike McCormick, President Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation
• Vice Chair: Julie Bushell, President, Paige Wireless Irrigation Association

The Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands working group will help identify barriers to infrastructure deployment on agricultural lands and how to promote continued investment in networks serving those areas.

• Chair: Jeff Pettit, President and CEO, Noash Construction, Inc. National Association of Tower Erectors
• Vice Chair: Heather Hampton Knodle, Vice President, Knodle Ltd. Farms American Agri-Women

Previously, Chairman Pai announced that the Task Force Chair will be Teddy Bekele, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Land O’Lakes. The Vice Chair will be Catherine Moyer, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Pioneer Communications.