Rep. Mark Messmer Warns of Cyber Attacks on Farms and IP Theft

Cybersecurity Threats to Agriculture

• ⚠️ The USDA has identified cybersecurity as a primary threat to national farm security.
• 💡 Rep. Mark Messmer highlights the increasing productivity of farmers, partly due to new farm technology.

Intellectual Property Theft in AgTech

• 🔑 Innovators in crop protection chemistries face the threat of intellectual property (IP) theft before products reach the market.
• 🔒 Companies like Aduance Unlimited emphasize the need to keep proprietary information confidential and secure, as many advancements are not patent-protected.

Congressional Partnership for IP Protection

• 🤝 Messmer inquired how Congress can partner with businesses to bolster IP protections through cybersecurity enhancements.
• 💰 The response suggested that funding such initiatives would be beneficial.

Pesticide Use and EPA Reviews

• 🔬 Farmers are using integrated pest management and more specific, effective products, leading to less frequent applications compared to the past.
• ☕ The amount of glyphosate applied per acre is compared to a large cup of coffee spread over a football field, emphasizing its importance for crop yield and soil health practices like no-till.
• ⏳ EPA reviews for new products are a slow and costly process, with half a billion dollars in CPDA products currently tied up in reviews, causing lost revenue for both small biotech innovators and farmers.
• 📈 The current administration is encouraged to address these delays to ensure affordable access to critical inputs for farmers.