Both Parties Agree on Technology in Agriculture. So Why Can’t They Get It Done?

Republicans and Democrats both want to promote precision agriculture. They agree on the policies. So why are they struggling with finding the right vehicle to get these policies into law?

Agriculture Farming AP-23318756054921
A combine harvests corn at a farm near Allerton, Illinois. Joshua A. Bickel/AP

Republicans and Democrats agree that “precision agriculture” — the practice of using technology to make farming more efficient — is an important priority that lawmakers ought to be promoting.

The problem is that passing this weird little area of agreement into law likely means attaching it to an extremely controversial farm bill that may be going nowhere.

“Right now, it looks like there’s definitely interest in leadership to incorporate,” Rep. Don Davis said of putting precision agriculture provisions into the farm bill. But, Davis warned, that only means something if the farm bill actually passes.