Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act of 2025
The Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act of 2025 would create a new federal loan program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to help farmers and ranchers purchase precision agriculture equipment. The program would provide loans up to $500,000 per borrower, with a maximum loan term of 12 years. Eligible borrowers include crop and livestock producers who have satisfactory credit, intend to use the loan for precision agriculture equipment, and can demonstrate the ability to repay. The bill defines precision agriculture broadly (including GPS, satellite imagery, yield monitors, soil mapping, sensors, IoT, data analytics, and more) and lists a wide range of equipment it covers, while also allowing the Secretary to add other qualifying technologies. The act requires detailed annual reporting on loan outcomes, borrower demographics, and environmental/ input-reduction benefits, and requires public release of these reports within 90 days of submission. Funding for the program would be authorized as necessary. In short, the bill would institutionalize a federal loan program aimed at accelerating the adoption of high-tech farming tools to improve efficiency, reduce inputs, and environmental impact, with robust data reporting and oversight.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a new precision agriculture loan program under the Farm Service Agency, defined in statute as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, to promote adoption of precision agriculture by producers.
- 2Definitions of precision agriculture and precision agriculture equipment cover a broad set of technologies and tools, including GPS/geospatial mapping, imagery, yield and soil data, sensors, IoT, data analytics, connectivity, auto-steer, and variable-rate input applications, plus any other tech the Secretary deems relevant.
- 3Eligible borrowers are producers with satisfactory credit, who will use loan funds to purchase precision agriculture equipment, and who demonstrate the ability to repay; loans can be up to 12 years in length with a total cap of $500,000 per borrower.
- 4Security for loans requires a lien on the purchased equipment or other Secretary-approved collateral.
- 5Annual reporting requirements: the Secretary must produce a comprehensive report detailing loan activity, borrower characteristics (including age, farm size, commodities), equipment categories, estimated environmental or input-reduction benefits, loan performance (including defaults), and the number of outstanding loans by state/county and loan size; reports must be submitted to key congressional committees and publicly released within 90 days of submission.
- 6Funding and administration: The program is to be administered by the Secretary through the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs of the FSA, with appropriations authorization “as necessary” to carry out the section.