Congress·In Committee·S. 754

Sen. Cotton Introduces the Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act to Shield Food Supply from Hackers

Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act of 2025

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

This bill tells the Department of Agriculture to check for weak spots in the computer systems used by farms, food factories, and grocery stores. The goal is to find out how hackers might try to disrupt the way Americans get their food.
Every year for five years, the government would run a "practice drill" to see how they would handle a major food emergency. These drills would bring together government officials and private business owners to practice responding to a cyberattack.
By doing these check-ups every two years, the government hopes to protect the economy and keep food prices stable. They want to make sure that a digital attack doesn't lead to empty shelves at the supermarket or unsafe food.
The bill sets aside $1 million each year from 2026 to 2030 to pay for these drills. It also asks the government to make sure that new security rules don't become so complicated that they actually make it harder for businesses to stay safe.

AgricultureTechnology DigitalNational Security Foreign Policy

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Who is affectedScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 26, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Feb 26, 2025

Introduced in Senate

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Within 1 year of enactment

First cybersecurity risk assessment report due to Congress

The public and lawmakers would get the first comprehensive look at how vulnerable the nation's food supply is to cyberattacks, which could lead to follow-up legislation or new security guidelines for the food industry.

Related News

5 articles

Industrial Cyber·about 1 year ago

Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act reintroduced to protect food supply chain from cyber threats

U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced the Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act to protect the food supply chain by identifying vulnerabilities and improving protective measures. The bill directs the USDA to conduct biennial studies on cyber threats and lead annual cross-sector crisis simulation exercises.

CyberScoop·about 2 years ago

Bill seeks cyber protections for food and agriculture

Bipartisan, bicameral legislation was introduced to bolster cybersecurity in the food industry following the 2021 JBS ransomware incident. The bill tasks the USDA and national security agencies with holding yearly cross-sector exercises to handle food-related cyber disruptions.

GovTech·almost 2 years ago

Are We Ready for a Cyber Attack on Food and Farming?

Discussing federal efforts to defend the agricultural sector, this article notes that lawmakers are pushing the Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act. The bill would direct the USDA to conduct biennial studies and annual exercises to simulate responses to food-related cyber emergencies.