Recently, Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska’s 2nd District reintroduced two significant bills designed to enhance the security and modernity of the United States agricultural sector. The first, H.R. 4155, known as the American Agricultural Security Act, aims to strengthen cyber defenses within the nation’s food supply chain. Meanwhile, H.R. 4156, titled the Support for Ownership and Investment in Land (SOIL) Act, seeks to eliminate obstacles for aspiring farmers who wish to establish their operations.
The urgency of addressing cybersecurity in agriculture is underscored by reports of forty cyberattacks on the U.S. agri-food sector during just the first quarter of 2024. The American Agricultural Security Act proposes establishing Centers of Excellence at higher education institutions and launching a competitive USDA grant program focused on bolstering agricultural cybersecurity infrastructure.
Rep. Bacon emphasized the connection between national security and agriculture: “Our national security and our agricultural industry are inextricably linked,” he stated. He further highlighted the potential risks posed by cyber threats: “There are only nine meals between civilization and total anarchy.”
The proposed legislation outlines specific measures such as empowering the Secretary of Agriculture to create research-focused Centers of Excellence and establishing a USDA grant program dedicated to protecting food and agricultural systems from attacks or global threats.
On another front, the SOIL Act seeks to streamline farm loan processes for new agricultural leaders by allowing the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to implement a farm loan pre-approval process. This would enable farmers to make timely decisions without missing opportunities for business expansion—a common challenge for beginning farmers.
“The SOIL Act will finally open the door for beginning farmers and ranchers to obtain financing by allowing producers to be preapproved for FSA Loans,” Rep. Bacon remarked, pointing out that young producers often face delays in land acquisition due to current procedures.
Both pieces of legislation were previously included in last Congress’s Farm Bill passed by the House Agriculture Committee. Rep. Bacon expressed his intention to collaborate with the Committee again this session to push these initiatives forward.
