(Carolina Journal) – Legislation to increase funding for artificial intelligence projects through U.S. Department of Agriculture grants with a goal of ensuring programs educate farmers on the latest AI technology to advance American production has been filed by North Carolina’s junior senator.
The FARM AI Act, known also as Senate Bill 4627, will invest in developing the agricultural workforce development, expanding access to artificial intelligence in farming, and enable producers to be more effective in the global marketplace, says Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C. He was joined Thursday at filing in sponsorship by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Jim Banks, R-Ind.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; and Lisa Blount Rochester, D-Del.
The acronym brings the together Fostering Agricultural Research and Modernization through Artificial Intelligence Act.
“AI technologies are advancing at a rapid pace, and if we fail to address the barriers of access to AI deployment in agriculture, America’s producers will fall behind,” Budd said. “Precision technologies have the potential to enhance innovation and productivity in farming and ranching, but outdated USDA programs are holding this potential back from reaching our rural communities. I am proud to be leading the bipartisan FARM AI Act to unlock the untapped potential of AI technology to advance American agriculture.”
Brian Balfour, vice president of Research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal, “It’s good to see the emphasis on directing resources toward improving productivity. Perhaps even better than government-directed research, however, may be for the government to peel back regulations that slow or hamper farmers’ ability to adopt new technologies.
“At the state level, legislators could adopt a ‘regulatory sandbox’ for agriculture, in which new technologies would be exempt from state regulations while farmers experiment in finding ways to improve their productivity and quality.”
N.C. State University and the North Carolina Life Sciences Organization support the effort.
“The FARM AI Act provides a crucial framework to accelerate innovation and workforce development across the agricultural sector,” said Dr. Garey Fox, dean of N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “By increasing capital for artificial intelligence projects through USDA grants and ensuring that USDA programs are precisely tailored to include AI development, this legislation will directly empower researchers to develop and deploy cutting-edge solutions. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University deeply appreciates Sen. Budd’s leadership in recognizing the transformative potential of AI in agriculture and his commitment to empowering land-grant universities to lead this vital frontier.”
The bill would prioritize research and development in artificial intelligence under the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and the USDA’s Advanced Research and Development Authority.
“NCLifeSci applauds Senator Budd’s introduction of the FARM AI Act,” said Laura Gunter, president of NCLifeSci. “North Carolina leads the nation in both agriculture and agricultural technology, making this legislation especially relevant to our state. The bill addresses two critical gaps facing farmers: a lack of capital to adopt AI tools and a shortage of trained workers in rural communities to implement them. By directing USDA resources toward AI research, workforce development, and Extension outreach, the act strengthens the U.S. food supply chain and positions American farmers to compete internationally.”
