Application of Daniel T. Leibfried for membership on t~e FCC Precision Agriculture Connecti~ity Task Force i Deere & Company wishes to nominate Daniel T. Leibfried of Urbandale, Iowa, as its representative for membership on the Precision Agric1ulture Connectivity Task Force, pursuant to the Federal Communications Commissioni's public announcement of June 17, 2019. Also pursuant to that announcement} Deere provides the following requested information: 1 Name, title, and organization of the nominee: Mr. Daniel T. Leibfried Director, Advanced Technology Intelligent Solutions Group (ISG) Deere & Company 9505 Northpark Drive Urbandale, IA 50322 Email: LeibfriedDanielT@JohnDeere.com Phone: (913) 310-8532 Description of the organization, sector or other 1interest the nominee will represent: Deere & Company ("Deere"), headquartered in Moline, Illinois, is a world leader in the manufacture of agricultural, turf, construction, arid forestry equipment, diesel engines, and other machinery. Deere provides agricultural and other equipment and services to customers that cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land in order to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, fiber, and infrastructure. Deere has been providing i~novative equipment and services to customers since 1837, and today is pioneering state-of-the-art data and information solutions designed to greatly enhance efficiency, productivity and sustainability. Deere delivers information and communications techQology through integrated systems across its agricultural equipment line, as we(! as through its construction and forestry equipment. Over the past two decades, iproducers have come under greater pressure to increase yields while maximizing ~fficiencies and environmental sustainability. Deere has been instrumental in advan'.cing high precision agriculture I technologies that address these needs. Guidance sy*ems, data generation and analysis, machine-to-machine ("M2M") and machine-to-farm communications have I become integral components of daily agricultural operations. Modern agricultural operations increasingly require high-speed broadband. As a leading global supplier of agricultural equipment and precision technology sdlutions, Deere is intensely interested in the timely and widespread deployment bf high-speed fixed and mobile broadband facilities in the nation's rural areas and, rn,ost importantly, in areas of agricultural activity. A statement summarizing the nominee's qualifi¢ations and reasons why the nominee should be appointed to the Committee: Mr. Leibfried is Director, Advanced Technology, Deer$ Intelligent Solutions Group. I In this role, Mr. Leibfried leads the Automation Delivery, Advanced Engineering, and ! the Blue River Technology functions. Collectively, thE;!se functions develop, design and deliver critical precision ag solutions to customer~, and enable the evolution of precision agriculture from automation to autonomy. Additionally, Mr. Leibfried I leads the Deere's precision ag strategy, business development, and portfolio management team. Mr. Leibfried has more than 20 years' experience witl11 John Deere's agricultural division, in successive positions of increased responsibility. These include managerial roles in equipment sales, tactical marketihg, strategic planning, dealer and customer support, as well as an overseas marke~ing assignment. Since 2013, Mr. Leibfried has had responsibility for product devel~pment, sales, and support functions with Deere's embedded solutions business. 1 Mr. Leibfried has a BS degree in Electrical Engineerin~ from University of Iowa, and an MS in Ag Economics from Purdue University. He r~ceived his MBA from Indiana University. Among his affiliations with outside organizations, he is a former Board 1 Member of the Technology Association of Iowa. Given Mr. Leibfried's professional background and De'ere's leadership role in precision technology development, Mr. Leibfried woul!d bring extensive, real-world experience to the Task Force regarding the significant value that precision ag technologies and solutions can deliver, and the challe!nges currently faced by U.S. farmers and ranchers in adopting these technologies '.and services. Mr. Leibfried 1 has access to the Deere organization's market, experience, thought leadership and insight on all of the key issues involved in connectivity to support high-precision agriculture. Mr. Leibfried is uniquely qualified to reprlesent Deere on the Task Force and make important contributions to its work. 1 A statement, if the nominee will represent a sp~cific organization, describing the organization as well as the benefit of having the organization represented on the Committee: Deere is a world leader in the manufacture of agricul ural, turf, construction, and forestry equipment, diesel engines, and other machi1ery. Since its founding in 1837, Deere has led the industry in developing and providing innovative solutions to ag producers in the U.S. and around the world. Inl the late 1990's, Deere was first to introduce GPS-based guidance systems in its fquipment, which are foundational to precision agriculture. Since then, De ~· re has introduced major advances in automated tracking, section-control, variable rate seeding and application, as well as platforms for field operation m nagement, agronomic analysis, logistics and machine performance. In resp ~ nse to incomplete broadband coverage of agricultural areas, Deere has developed !broadband mapping tools and derived relevant data on broadband connectivity, or ~ he lack thereof, affecting agricultural operations. Deere's interest in the enha~ced deployment of high-speed broadband stems from its leadership role in providing innovative technologies and solutions to make U.S. producers more efficient and ~ reductive while operating more sustainably. Deere has actively engaged in policy development at the federal and state levels to promote the expansion of broadband connectivity to gricultural areas. Deere FCC's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee ( DAC) and its Streamlining 1 Federal Siting Working Group, and the National Telecpmmunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Commerce Spec1rum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC). In the past several years, Deere has contributed its ~iews and analysis in relevant proceedings at the FCC, NTIA, USDA, and Rural Utility Service (RUS). These have included the FCC rulemaking proceedings regarding t r, e Connect America Fund and Mobility Fund II (2014 ); Accelerating Deployment untler Section 706 (2015); Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program (2017) l the NTIA Broadband Opportunity Council proceeding (2015); the NTIA inq iry on Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things (2016); and t r e USDA Notice of Inquiry on Precision Agriculture (2019). Deere regularly meets r'ith FCC Commissioners and staff, as well as USDA/RUS officials and staff, on ma~fers directly related to high precision agriculture and rural broadband deploymenf In addition, Deere business leaders and customers h ve testified before several 1 Congressional committees in recent years to highlight the productivity and sustainability gains to be derived from precision techr ology applications. Deere testimony has consistently advocated for federal bro9dband policies to take into account the considerable amounts of agricultural lands that are currently unserved or underserved. I Deere was a founding member, and remains an active participant in the Agricultural Broadband Coalition (ABC), a group of agricultural prbducer, equipment, _ /_ technology, retail and other organizations working to~ether to broaden awareness about precision agriculture and support federal polici~s that recognize and address the connectivity needs of U.S. farmers and ranchers.! In its efforts to facilitate broadband connectivity to support high precision agri~ulture,' Deere representatives have also worked cooperatively with other stakeholdJrs relevant to this Task Force, including large and small producers, ISPs and ISP ac~ess providers, representatives in the electric cooperative and satellite industries, stdte and local governments, and firms developing mapping technologies and expertisei. i Deere's 182-year legacy of providing high-quality prqducts and services to U.S. farmers is a testament to its sustained market leader~hip in innovation and the i transformation of production agriculture. Deere beli~ves technology innovation will be essential to meet the expected demand for food f~om a growing global population. Deere further believes that continuous irlnovation in agriculture practices will depend on expanded wireless broadban~ facilities and services and spectrum resources that enable U.S. farmers and ranichers to increase productivity with limited resources.