U.S. farmers join Keep GPS coalition to protect satellite-based precision agriculture

Berlin, 30 September 2020. – Farmers across the United States have urged the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect GPS networks from harmful interference and announced their support for the Keep GPS Working Coalition.

The group of different agricultural associations expressed “grave concerns” over an FCC order “threatening the viability of the single most significant technological advancement for American agriculture in two decades,” the Keep GPS Working Coalition said.

The coalition was launched in June to protect GPS users from harmful interference resulting from the FCC’s decision to permit Ligado Networks to operate a terrestrial wireless network in the band adjacent to GPS.

“Farmers are increasingly relying on precision agriculture applications that deliver centimeter-level accuracy that enables farmers to maximize crop yields while lowering costs and environmental impact,” the coalition said. “Precision farming reduces costs for consumers, delivers economic benefits for rural economies and enables the efficient production of the foods required to meet a growing global demand for food, fiber and fuel.”

New coalition members include the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), American Soybean Association (ASA), Equipment Dealers Association (EDA), Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), National Cotton Council of America (National Cotton Council) and USA Rice Federation (USA Rice).