Senator Fischer Leads Bill to Address “Last Acre” Connectivity, Expand Broadband Access Across Farmland and Ranchland

Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced the Linking Access to Spur Technology for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environments (LAST ACRE) Act. This legislation would create a new Last Acre Program at the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Rural Development aiming to expand network connectivity across farmland and ranchland. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) co-led the introduction of the legislation. Existing Rural Development programs support “last mile” broadband deployment, which connects broadband networks to rural households or businesses. The USDA lacks a program focused on extending connectivity across rural acreage, reaching the “last acre.” This last-acre connectivity is critical for farmers and ranchers looking to use precision agriculture technologies in their operations. The LAST ACRE Act would establish the Last Acre Program at USDA to expand high-speed broadband internet access. This access would support ubiquitous last acre coverage across eligible agricultural land, including farmland, ranchland, and farm sites. The bill would also direct USDA to update the Census of Agriculture to include questions that would discover insights into producers’ adoption of broadband internet access services. These updates would provide USDA with additional information about service speed and broadband usage purposes, including its use for precision agriculture technologies.