High upfront costs, limited technical expertise, and a shortage of rural workforce training have slowed adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on many farms, but a newly introduced bill from U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) is designed to address such challenges and help move innovation from the laboratory to the farm.
Rep. Nunn on July 14 sponsored the bipartisan Fostering Agricultural Research and Modernization through Artificial Intelligence (FARM AI) Act of 2026, H.R. 9686, with lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) to speed up the deployment of AI across American agriculture by modernizing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research and workforce programs.
“Artificial intelligence is the next frontier. From yield mapping and precision nutrient application to disease detection and water conservation, AI gives farmers better information to make better decisions in real time,” Rep. Nunn said. “Our bipartisan FARM AI Act builds on the ground-breaking research already happening at Iowa’s universities while investing in the workforce needed to bring these innovations from the lab to the field. The future of agriculture shouldn’t be written by bureaucrats in Washington — it should be driven by the Iowa farmers who feed America.”
H.R. 9686 would designate AI as a priority research area under USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and expand AI research through the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority.
Additionally, the bill would equip USDA Extension with the resources to help farmers responsibly adopt AI technologies and precision agriculture, and expand USDA grants and fellowships to strengthen the rural workforce, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Nunn’s staff.
The measure also would require that a senior USDA official be nominated as the AI in Agriculture Advisor to coordinate federal AI efforts, align agency programs, and work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop national standards for agricultural AI, the summary says.
“Feeding America is national security, and the future of agriculture will depend on our ability to innovate,” said Rep. Davis. “We must strengthen research, expand workforce training, and give producers the tools they need to increase productivity, remain globally competitive, and ensure the United States continues to lead the world in agriculture.”
H.R. 9686 is the companion bill to the identical S. 4627 introduced in May by U.S. Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Adam Schiff (D-CA).