Congress funds farm cybersecurity research to protect rural infrastructure
H.R. 4046 — Cybersecurity in Agriculture Act of 2025 · Filed by Zachary (Zach) Nunn (R-IA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill directs the USDA to establish five regional cybersecurity research centers at colleges and universities to develop tools, training, and threat-monitoring systems for protecting farms and agricultural supply chains from cyberattacks. The centers will conduct research, run simulated attack exercises, and train agricultural workers on cybersecurity best practices, with $25 million in federal funding authorized annually through 2030. The program aims to strengthen the resilience of U.S. agriculture against digital threats.
Why we flagged it
The bill establishes a federally funded research and education program focused on cybersecurity threats to agriculture. It creates regional centers, testbeds, and training programs—a straightforward public investment in agricultural infrastructure resilience.
What the text implies
- The bill creates a national network of cybersecurity centers that may generate standardized threat intelligence and vulnerability data across the agricultural sector, potentially creating a centralized database of agricultural infrastructure weaknesses that could be sensitive if breached.
- By establishing 'security operations centers' and 'situational awareness systems,' the legislation may create new federal monitoring capabilities over agricultural networks, raising questions about data collection scope and farmer privacy.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
cybersecurity software and hardware vendors (AMD, HPE, Cisco, Verisign); agricultural technology companies; universities with agriculture and cybersecurity programs