Russ Feingold: “I am pleased, Mr. President, that several amendments I had planned to offer on the floor when the Senate took up this…”

“I am pleased, Mr. President, that several amendments I had planned to offer on the floor when the Senate took up this bill have been accepted by the chairman, Mr. Lugar, and the ranking member, Mr. Harkin, of the Agriculture Committee and have been included in the managers' amendment to the bill. Two of my amendments included in the bill address a new research program regarding precision agriculture. Precision agriculture is a system of farming that uses very site-specific information on soil nutrient needs and presence of plant pests, often gathered using advanced technologies such as global positioning systems, high performance image processing, and software systems to determine the specific fertilizer, pesticide and other input needs of a farmer's cropland. This technology may have the benefit of lowering farm production costs and increase profitability by helping the producer reduce agricultural inputs by applying them only where needed. In addition, reducing agricultural inputs may minimize the impact of crop production on wildlife and the environment.”