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Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act introduced in U.S. House

Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the House to make precision ag technology more affordable.

U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra tells Brownfield the Precision Agriculture Loan (PAL) Program Act of 2022 helps get new innovations into the hands of farmers.

“Just brainstorming we came up with the idea (that) we should give low-interest loans to the farming community so they can buy these precision agriculture (tools), so that’s the bill we created and co-sponsored with (Illinois Democrat) Cheri Bustos.”

The Iowa Republican says the PAL Act would offer three to twelve-year FSA loans of up to $500,000 with interest rates of less than two percent.

“So a farmer can go in, and if they want to buy autosteer guidance for precision farming or variable rate application or precision irrigation, things like this, they can purchase some of this new technology that will create more efficiency for them.”

There’s companion legislation in the Senate lead by Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Nebraska’s Deb Fischer, and Feenstra says he’s hopeful the PAL Act can get “pushed through” Congress during the lame duck session.