Farm Labor Challenges, AI and Automation, Data Security and More
The 2018 Farm Bill directed the FCC to investigate agricultural technology. The resulting Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (Precision Ag Task Force, or PATF) was launched the next year and, over the next half-decade, issued three reports of recommendations.
Like many federal agency task force groups, the PATF’s work was distributed among several working groups, each assigned to specific subtopics including mapping, connectivity needs, adoption and jobs. I was selected to serve on the Jobs and Adoption working group for the first and second terms of the PATF (2019-2021 and 2022-2023) and appointed to the PATF itself as well as chair of the Jobs and Adoption working group for the final year (2024) of the five-year PATF term. A scene from the film Moneyball comes to mind when people ask me to describe the experience – specifically, Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane explaining to his team that the new focus on getting on base, rather than aiming for extra base hits or flat-out runs, is “a process.” And that aptly describes the work of the PATF. It was a process.
Not in a pejorative sense but in a complimentary reflection. Our approach on the Jobs and Adoption working group was to examine each of the separate sub-charges we were assigned to investigate, including (but not limited to) farm labor shortages, the role of AI and automation, data security and metrics. As chair, I was truly fortunate to have teammates, including Dr. Alex Thomasson of Mississippi State University (scheduled to join us on an AI panel at RTIME this month) and Dr. Kevin Royal of Clemson. Together with the farmers, financiers and other subject matter experts, they helped develop a deeper understanding of farming and farm markets as we formulated guiding principles for FCC, USDA and other agency policies to advance ag tech use and adoption.
The final report, representing the efforts of four working groups, is comprehensive and checks in at nearly 130 pages. Join SRC later this year as we unpack the report, how it came together and (most importantly) the trends we see for broadband-enabled ag tech from crop and animal farming.