Legis Daily

LAST ACRE Act of 2025

USA119th CongressHR-3212| House 
| Updated: 5/6/2025
Brad Finstad

Brad Finstad

Republican Representative

Minnesota

Cosponsors (1)
Jim Costa (Democratic)

Agriculture Committee, Energy and Commerce Committee

  • Introduced
  • In Committee
  • On Floor
  • Passed Chamber
  • Enacted
The "Linking Access to Spur Technology for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environments Act of 2025," or LAST ACRE Act of 2025 , amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to create a new "Last Acre Program." This program's primary goal is to advance precision agriculture connectivity across the nation by expanding high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved eligible agricultural land. It achieves this by offering competitive grants and loans to covered providers to deploy qualifying connectivity. Qualifying connectivity is defined as service capable of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream , supporting activities like providing broadband to farm structures and devices, facilitating data transmission via multipoint wireless networks, and constructing or retrofitting wireless infrastructure. Covered producers are individuals or entities primarily engaged in agricultural production on eligible land, including agricultural research centers. Eligible land encompasses various agricultural areas used for active production, such as cropland, rangeland, and farm sites. The program prioritizes applications for unserved eligible land in remote areas, followed by other unserved land, then underserved land in remote areas, and finally other underserved land. The Federal share for projects is generally 80% of the total cost, but can increase to 90% for projects benefiting limited resource farmers or ranchers . Providers must register and submit detailed bid applications, which are subject to a challenge process by other providers to ensure the land is truly unserved or underserved. Recipients of assistance must adhere to cybersecurity requirements, including incorporating a layered defense strategy and maintaining a configuration management plan. Projects have a maximum buildout timeframe of four years, with the Secretary establishing milestones and penalties for noncompliance. The Secretary is also required to submit annual reports to Congress detailing program outcomes and to provide necessary data to the Federal Communications Commission for broadband maps. The bill authorizes $20,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out this section, while repealing sections 602 and 603 of the Rural Electrification Act. Additionally, the bill mandates that the National Agricultural Statistics Service update its computer usage and ownership survey and the census of agriculture. These updates will include new questions to collect more comprehensive data on broadband internet access service adoption by farm sites, including subscribed speeds and the specific purposes for which the internet is used, particularly for precision agriculture .
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Timeline

Bill from Previous Congress

HR 118-6142
LAST ACRE Act of 2023
May 6, 2025

Latest Companion Bill Action

S 119-1617
Introduced in Senate
May 6, 2025
Introduced in House
May 6, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  • Bill from Previous Congress

    HR 118-6142
    LAST ACRE Act of 2023


  • May 6, 2025

    Latest Companion Bill Action

    S 119-1617
    Introduced in Senate


  • May 6, 2025
    Introduced in House


  • May 6, 2025
    Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Science, Technology, Communications

Related Bills

  • S 119-1617: LAST ACRE Act of 2025

LAST ACRE Act of 2025

USA119th CongressHR-3212| House 
| Updated: 5/6/2025
The "Linking Access to Spur Technology for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environments Act of 2025," or LAST ACRE Act of 2025 , amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to create a new "Last Acre Program." This program's primary goal is to advance precision agriculture connectivity across the nation by expanding high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved eligible agricultural land. It achieves this by offering competitive grants and loans to covered providers to deploy qualifying connectivity. Qualifying connectivity is defined as service capable of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream , supporting activities like providing broadband to farm structures and devices, facilitating data transmission via multipoint wireless networks, and constructing or retrofitting wireless infrastructure. Covered producers are individuals or entities primarily engaged in agricultural production on eligible land, including agricultural research centers. Eligible land encompasses various agricultural areas used for active production, such as cropland, rangeland, and farm sites. The program prioritizes applications for unserved eligible land in remote areas, followed by other unserved land, then underserved land in remote areas, and finally other underserved land. The Federal share for projects is generally 80% of the total cost, but can increase to 90% for projects benefiting limited resource farmers or ranchers . Providers must register and submit detailed bid applications, which are subject to a challenge process by other providers to ensure the land is truly unserved or underserved. Recipients of assistance must adhere to cybersecurity requirements, including incorporating a layered defense strategy and maintaining a configuration management plan. Projects have a maximum buildout timeframe of four years, with the Secretary establishing milestones and penalties for noncompliance. The Secretary is also required to submit annual reports to Congress detailing program outcomes and to provide necessary data to the Federal Communications Commission for broadband maps. The bill authorizes $20,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out this section, while repealing sections 602 and 603 of the Rural Electrification Act. Additionally, the bill mandates that the National Agricultural Statistics Service update its computer usage and ownership survey and the census of agriculture. These updates will include new questions to collect more comprehensive data on broadband internet access service adoption by farm sites, including subscribed speeds and the specific purposes for which the internet is used, particularly for precision agriculture .
View Full Text

Suggested Questions

Get AI-generated questions to help you understand this bill better

Timeline

Bill from Previous Congress

HR 118-6142
LAST ACRE Act of 2023
May 6, 2025

Latest Companion Bill Action

S 119-1617
Introduced in Senate
May 6, 2025
Introduced in House
May 6, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  • Bill from Previous Congress

    HR 118-6142
    LAST ACRE Act of 2023


  • May 6, 2025

    Latest Companion Bill Action

    S 119-1617
    Introduced in Senate


  • May 6, 2025
    Introduced in House


  • May 6, 2025
    Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Brad Finstad

Brad Finstad

Republican Representative

Minnesota

Cosponsors (1)
Jim Costa (Democratic)

Agriculture Committee, Energy and Commerce Committee

Science, Technology, Communications

Related Bills

  • S 119-1617: LAST ACRE Act of 2025
  • Introduced
  • In Committee
  • On Floor
  • Passed Chamber
  • Enacted