LAST ACRE Act of 2025
The LAST ACRE Act of 2025 would create a new Last Acre Program under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to expand high‑speed broadband access for agricultural land in unserved and underserved areas. The program would provide grants and loans to eligible broadband providers to deliver qualifying connectivity to farm land, farm sites, and other active agricultural land, with a special emphasis on precision agriculture. It sets detailed eligibility rules, a competitive bidding process, and buildout milestones (up to four years) while prioritizing remote and highly underserved areas. The bill also requires cybersecurity protections, data reporting to Congress and the FCC, and updates to national agricultural data collection to track broadband adoption on farms. It repeals two older program sections in the Rural Electrification Act and authorizes appropriations as needed through fiscal year 2029. In short, the bill shifts federal effort and funding toward the “last mile” of farm internet access, tying connectivity to on‑farm devices and precision‑agriculture needs, with a structured bidder-driven approach and extensive reporting and cybersecurity safeguards.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of the Last Acre Program to fund last‑mile connectivity for unserved and underserved agricultural land through grants and loans to covered providers, with a focus on precision agriculture and on‑farm connectivity needs.
- 2Definitions and scope: creates precise terms for eligible land (cropland, pasture, farm sites, etc.), farm sites, covered producers (including ARS research centers), covered providers, and qualifying connectivity (minimum speeds of 100 Mbps down / 20 Mbps up plus on‑farm connectivity activities or wireless infrastructure support).
- 3Competitive bidding and project selection: providers must register to participate; a structured bidding process allows nearby providers to compete for service areas, with published land data, challenge procedures, a 90‑day adjudication timeline for challenges, and a final selection based on lowest cost and demonstrated capacity to meet on‑farm needs (with possible priority for higher speeds when needed).
- 4Funding terms and cybersecurity: generally up to 80% federal funding (90% for limited resource producers); funds may be used for cybersecurity requirements; buildout milestones capped at four years with penalties for noncompliance.
- 5Data, reporting, and oversight: annual reports to Congress on bid outcomes, challenges, awards, and volumes; data shared with the FCC for broadband mapping; NASS data collection on farm broadband adoption added to Census of Agriculture activities; a broader repeal of two older REA provisions (602 and 603) to implement the new program.