S1617

The LAST ACRE Act of 2025, S.1617, amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a "LAST ACRE PROGRAM." This program directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide grants and loans for projects that facilitate broadband and wireless connectivity on active agricultural land. The bill explicitly targets the provision of broadband service to structures and devices, including tractors, irrigation systems, and drones, and wireless connectivity for data transmission between these devices. It also supports the construction of wireless infrastructure. This legislation directly addresses the connectivity gap in agricultural areas, defining "covered producer" to include entities engaged in agricultural production and agricultural research centers. The money trail for this bill flows directly from the USDA in the form of grants and loans. This funding will be disbursed to "covered providers" of broadband internet access service and providers of wireless equipment or communications services. This creates a new revenue stream for telecommunications companies and equipment manufacturers. Companies like Verizon ($VZ), AT&T ($T), and T-Mobile ($TMUS) stand to gain from increased demand for their services and infrastructure build-out. Equipment providers such as Cisco Systems ($CSCO) will see increased sales of networking hardware. Agricultural technology companies like Deere & Company ($DE) and AGCO Corporation ($AGCO), which produce connected agricultural machinery, will benefit from the expanded network coverage enabling greater adoption and utilization of their precision agriculture solutions. Historically, similar initiatives to expand rural broadband have shown positive market reactions for telecommunications companies. For example, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included significant funding for broadband expansion. Following its passage, major telecom providers saw sustained growth in their rural service divisions. More recently, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 allocated $65 billion for broadband deployment. While specific stock movements are complex due to broader market conditions, the IIJA's passage led to increased capital expenditure announcements from major carriers, indicating anticipated revenue growth from these programs. This bill is a targeted extension of that effort, focusing specifically on agricultural land. Specific winners include major telecommunications carriers like Verizon ($VZ), AT&T ($T), and T-Mobile ($TMUS) due to direct service provision and infrastructure contracts. Wireless equipment manufacturers such as Cisco Systems ($CSCO) will see increased demand for their hardware. Companies specializing in precision agriculture technology, like Deere & Company ($DE) and AGCO Corporation ($AGCO), will benefit from the enhanced connectivity enabling greater adoption of their data-driven farming solutions. There are no clear losers from this legislation; it creates new market opportunities. This bill has been read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The next step is committee consideration, including potential hearings and markups. Given the bipartisan sponsorship (Sen. Fischer [R-NE] and Sen. Lujan [D-NM]) and the alignment with existing federal broadband expansion efforts, the bill has a moderate chance of advancing through committee. If it passes committee, it moves to a full Senate vote. The timeline for passage is uncertain, but similar bills can take months to over a year to become law.