To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program providing for the establishment of Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
No timeline data available
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new federal program to establish 5 Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers across the country. These centers will research cybersecurity threats to farms, food production, and the agricultural supply chain, develop protective tools, and train agriculture workers on cybersecurity best practices.
Who Benefits and How
- Farmers and agricultural producers gain access to cybersecurity expertise, tools, and training specifically designed for agricultural operations and equipment.
- Universities and research institutions can compete for grants to establish and operate the regional centers.
- Food supply chain companies benefit from improved detection systems for cyberattacks on agricultural infrastructure.
- Agricultural technology companies benefit from research and development of security tools specific to the sector.
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Federal taxpayers fund the grant program for the five regional centers and national coordination network.
- USDA and NIFA must administer the competitive grant program and coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security.
Key Provisions
- Creates 5 Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers through competitive grants or cooperative agreements
- Establishes a national network connecting the regional centers with one entity designated to coordinate
- Centers will develop security operations to monitor threats and recommend mitigation actions
- Requires development of agriculture-specific tools: intrusion detection, access control, device authentication, and secure networking
- Focuses on seed agriculture, horticulture, animal agriculture, and supply chain cybersecurity
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes 5 Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers through competitive grants to research, develop, and educate on cybersecurity threats specific to the agriculture sector, including seed agriculture, horticulture, animal agriculture, and supply chain.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "nifa_director"
- → Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology