GPS was a recent topic of conversation with House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson and Ag Committee member Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania. The discussion centered around the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to allow Ligado Networks to operate a terrestrial wireless network and how it will threaten the reliability of GPS receivers vital to precision agriculture.

Because producers rely so heavily on precision technology, the prospect of GPS units potentially not working is critical to every single farmer that uses precision technology. “Our organization has been advocating for soybean farmers for 100 years,” says Jim Kukowski, the American Soybean Association’s Conservation and Precision Agriculture Committee Chair.

“The arrival of GPS to farms has been the biggest technical advancement the industry has ever seen. The fact that the FCC would threaten our farmers with such a misguided decision is incomprehensible.” ASA joined leading ag organizations to support the Keep GPS Working Coalition.

The Ligado website says the company’s applications will “protect GPS, enable the expedited deployment of 5G networks, serve America’s critical industries, and will improve the lives of consumers in rural and urban areas around the country.”