Sec. 12504. Data on conservation practices
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Subtitle E of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3841 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: The purpose of this section is to increase the knowledge of how covered conservation practices or suites of covered conservation practices impact farm and ranch profitability (such as crop yields, soil health, and other risk-reducing factors) by using an appropriate collection, review, and analysis of data. In this section: The term covered conservation practice means a conservation practice— that is approved and supported by the Department; and for which the Department has developed 1 or more practice standards.
The term Department means the Department of Agriculture. The term privacy and confidentiality requirements means all laws applicable to the Department and the agencies of the Department that protect data provided to, or collected by, the agencies of the Department from being disclosed to the public in any manner except as authorized by those laws. The term privacy and confidentiality requirements includes— sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United States Code; section 502(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1502(c) ); section 1770 of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 7 U.S.C. 2276 ); section 1619 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 8791 ); and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 ( 44 U.S.C. 3501 note;
Public Law 107–347 ). Subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements, the Secretary shall— not less frequently than annually, review and publish a summary of existing research of the Department, institutions of higher education, and other organizations relating to the impacts of covered conservation practices that relate to crop yields, soil health, risk, and farm and ranch profitability; identify current data pertaining to the impacts of covered conservation practices that relate to crop yields, soil health, risk, and farm and ranch profitability collected by the Department, including— the Farm Service Agency; the Risk Management Agency; the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the National Agricultural Statistics Service; the Economic Research Service; and any other relevant agency, as determined by the Secretary; collect additional data specifically pertaining to the impacts of covered conservation practices that relate to crop yields, soil health, risk, and farm and ranch profitability necessary to achieve the purpose described in subsection (a), on the condition that a producer shall not be compelled or required to provide that data; ensure that data identified or collected under subparagraph
(B)or (C), respectively, are collected in a compatible format at the field- and farm-level; improve the interoperability of the data collected by the Department for the purposes of this section; in carrying out subparagraph (C), use existing authorities and procedures of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to allow producers to voluntarily provide supplemental data that may be useful in analyzing the impacts of covered conservation practices relating to crop yields, soil health, risk, and farm and ranch profitability using the least burdensome means to collect that data, such as through voluntary producer surveys; integrate and analyze the data identified or collected under this subsection to consider the impacts of covered conservation practices relating to crop yields, soil health, risk, and farm and ranch profitability; acting through the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency, in coordination with the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency and the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service— research and analyze how yield variability and risk are affected by different soil types for major crops; research and analyze how yield variability and risk for different soil types are affected by individual, or combinations of, agricultural management practices, including cover crops, no-till farming, adaptive nitrogen management, skip-row planting, and crop rotation for major crops; and not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, publish the findings of the research under clauses
(i)and (ii); to the extent practicable, integrate, collate, and link data identified under this subsection with other external data sources that include crop yields, soil health, and conservation practices, ensuring that all privacy and confidentiality requirements are implemented to protect all data subject to the privacy and confidentiality requirements; not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section— establish a conservation and farm productivity data warehouse that contains the data identified or collected under subparagraph
(B)or (C), respectively, in a form authorized under the privacy and confidentiality requirements applicable to each agency of the Department that contributes data to the data warehouse; and allow access to the data warehouse established under clause
(i)by an academic institution or researcher, if the academic institution or researcher has complied with all requirements of the National Agricultural Statistics Service under section 1770 of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 7 U.S.C. 2276 ) relating to the sharing of data of the Natural Agricultural Statistics Service; and not less frequently than annually, and, if practicable, more frequently than annually, disseminate the results of the research and analysis obtained through carrying out this section that demonstrate the impacts of covered conservation practices on crop yields, soil health, risk, and farm and ranch profitability in an aggregate manner that protects individual producer data and makes the results of the research and analysis easily used and implemented by producers and other stakeholders. Before providing access to any data under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish procedures to protect the integrity and confidentiality of any data identified, collected, or warehoused under this section. Procedures under subparagraph
(A)shall— ensure that any research or analysis published or disseminated by any person with access to the data identified, collected, or warehoused under this section complies with all applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements relating to that data; and limit access to data to only individuals specifically authorized to access the data by the Secretary. The Secretary shall carry out paragraph
(1)using— authorities available to the Secretary under other applicable laws; and funds otherwise made available to the Secretary. The combination of data protected from disclosure under the privacy and confidentiality requirements with data covered by lesser protections or no protections in the data warehouse established under paragraph (1)(J)(i) shall not modify or otherwise affect the privacy and confidentiality requirements that protect the data. Data provided by an agency of the Department under this section shall continue to be covered by the same protections from release as if that data were in the possession of the agency. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance, including through internet-based tools, based on the analysis conducted in carrying out this section and other sources of relevant data, to assist producers in improving sustainable production practices that increase yields and enhance environmental outcomes. Internet-based tools described in paragraph
(1)shall provide to producers, to the maximum extent practicable— confidential data specific to each farm or ranch of the producer; and general data relating to the impacts of covered conservation practices on crop yields, soil health, risk, and farm and ranch profitability. Nothing in this section mandates the submission of information by a producer that is not already required for another purpose under a program of the Department. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that includes— a summary of the analysis conducted under this section; the number and regions of producers that voluntarily submitted information under subparagraphs
(C)and
(F)of subsection (c)(1); a description of any additional or new activities planned to be conducted under this section in the next fiscal year, including— research relating to any additional conservation practices; any new types of data to be collected; any improved or streamlined data collection efforts associated with this section; and any new research projects; and in the case of the first 2 reports submitted under this subsection, a description of the current status of the implementation of activities under subsection (c). .
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- Pub. L. 107-347
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Sec. 12504
Data on conservation practices
Pub. L.Pub. L. 107-347
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