Stakeholders Applaud Bacon for Reintroducing Legislation to Strengthen America’s Agricultural Security

Stakeholders Applaud Bacon for Reintroducing Legislation to Strengthen America's Agricultural Security

Washington - Stakeholders and organizations are applauding Representative Don Bacon (NE-02) for reintroducing H.R. 4155, the American Agricultural Security Research Act of 2025 which will bolster cyber defenses for our nation's food supply chain and secure America's agricultural sector.

With the U.S. agri-food sector reporting forty cyberattack incidents in the first quarter of 2024 alone, the American Agricultural Security Research Act addresses an urgent national security concern. The legislation will establish Centers of Excellence at higher education institutions and create a competitive USDA grant program to strengthen our agricultural cybersecurity infrastructure.

"Our national security and our agricultural industry are inextricably linked," said Rep. Bacon. "There are only nine meals between civilization and total anarchy. For this reason, I introduced the American Agricultural Security Act to ensure we stay ahead of emerging threats to our food supply chain."

While new technologies have enabled food production to become one of the most automated industries in the world, adversaries have increasingly looked to undermine our nation's most vital industry through increased cyberattacks. The American Agricultural Security Research Act addresses these challenges by:

• Enabling the Secretary of Agriculture to establish Centers of Excellence at institutions of higher education to research and engage in extension on topics related to cybersecurity, biosecurity, and agricultural production.
• Establishing a competitive grant program within USDA to support research, extension, and education activities that improve the capability of the United States to protect the food and agricultural system from attack or other global catastrophic threats.

The full text of H.R. 4155, the American Agricultural Security Research Act of 2025 can be found here.

Below are statements of support from stakeholders:

"The American Agricultural Security Act protects the technology and infrastructure that keeps our nation's food supply chain secure," said Kip Eideberg, Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Relations, Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)."Cybersecurity is national security, and AEM greatly appreciates Representative Don Bacon's leadership on legislation that will ensure the safe production, distribution, and consumption of American-grown food, and facilitate the increased adoption of precision agriculture technology by growers across the country."

"American agriculture faces mounting threats from both natural and man-made hazards, placing the nation's food supply and rural economies at increasing risk," said Jared Brown, Executive Director, Global Shield. "Representative Bacon's proposed American Agricultural Research Act is a critical step in ensuring that vital research is conducted to protect America's food supply from all forms of catastrophic risk, thereby protecting both Americans and our vital contributions to the global food supply. Global Shield is proud to support this critical piece of legislation."

"America's farmers and ranchers don't feed just our country, they feed the world. And as adversaries grow more sophisticated, we must stay ahead of the threats facing our food supply," said Rep. Ellzey, Co-Chair, For Country Caucus. "The For Country Caucus is proud to endorse the American Agricultural Security Research Act because it invests in the research and innovation needed to defend our agricultural systems from cyber and biological attacks. In a time when our security is being threatened more than ever, this will protect our producers, our economy, and our national security."

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