The Cybersecurity in Agriculture Act of 2025 would amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program that creates five Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers. The centers would conduct research, development, and education focused on cybersecurity for the agriculture sector, including seed production, horticulture, animal agriculture, and the supply chain.
A national network would be formed, coordinated by a designated college or university. Funding of $25 million per year is authorized for 2026 through 2030 to establish and operate these centers.
At a Glance
What It Does
The Secretary, via the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, must establish five Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers to carry out R&D and education on ag cybersecurity, build a national network, and designate a lead coordinating college.
Who It Affects
Universities that host the centers, regional industry partners (cooperatives, agribusinesses), and federal partners (USDA and DHS) will participate; farmers, processors, and suppliers benefit from increased cybersecurity capabilities.
Why It Matters
This creates sector-specific cyber defense capacity for the agriculture sector, addressing threats to the food supply chain and building a workforce skilled in domain-specific security.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill would expand the federal role in securing the agricultural sector's digital backbone. It directs USDA to set up five Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers that will work to detect, analyze, and defend against cyber threats targeting agriculture.
Each center will focus on areas such as seed production, crop and animal agriculture, and the broader supply chain. The centers are intended to function as a coordinated national network, with one college or university appointed to oversee the network’s activities.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill creates five Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers.
A national network of centers will be coordinated by one designated college or university.
Centers will research cybersecurity systems, build a security operations center, and develop agriculture-specific security tools.
Eligible entities are colleges or universities with food/ag sciences and cybersecurity programs that coordinate with industry and government partners.
Funding of $25 million per year is authorized for 2026–2030 to establish and operate the program.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short Title
This Act may be cited as the Cybersecurity in Agriculture Act of 2025. It outlines the purpose and scope of the new program within the national policy framework for agricultural research, extension, and teaching.
Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers — Establishment and Duties
The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, shall establish a program to create five Regional Agriculture Cybersecurity Centers. These centers will conduct research, develop cybersecurity technologies for the agricultural sector, and provide education and training to stakeholders. They will also build a national network, designate a lead college to coordinate the network, operate a security operations center, develop testbeds, and run attack/defense exercises to validate solutions for field deployment. The program emphasizes security for seed, horticulture, animal agriculture, and the broader agri-food supply chain.
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Who Benefits
- Farmers and agribusinesses who rely on secure digital systems for planting, monitoring, and supply chain operations and who will gain improved threat detection and response capabilities.
- Universities and colleges with programs in food/ag sciences and cybersecurity that host centers and coordinate regional partners.
- Regional industry partners (cooperatives, processors, and agritech firms) that participate in center activities and adoption of new cybersecurity tools.
- USDA, through NIFA, and DHS, which will collaborate on standards, threat intelligence sharing, and workforce development.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal government will fund the five centers with $25 million annually through FY 2030.
- Host universities will incur administrative and operational costs to operate the centers and manage partnerships.
- Regional partners may incur costs to integrate center-developed tools and training into existing operations.
- State and local agriculture agencies may incur costs for implementing center-derived cybersecurity practices and work with federal partners to align standards.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
Balancing wide-sector cybersecurity capacity-building in agriculture with the administrative complexity and funding demands of managing five regional centers and a national network.
The bill creates a targeted, sector-specific cybersecurity program with potential scalability, but it also raises questions about governance, funding sufficiency, and cross-agency coordination. Implementers will need to manage partnerships across universities, industry, and federal agencies while ensuring consistent threat intelligence sharing and avoiding duplication with other cyber facilities.
The emphasis on regional centers could lead to uneven geographic distribution if funding or partnerships skew toward certain regions, and there may be jurisdictional or privacy concerns around data used in defense exercises and testbeds.
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