What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect, analyze, and share data about how farming practices affect crop yields, soil health, and the environment. The data system will help farmers understand which conservation practices work best for their land while protecting their private information.
Who It Affects
Farmers and ranchers, the Department of Agriculture, academic researchers, the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Economic Research Service, and the Forest Service.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary must identify and collect data from Department agencies about how conservation practices and other farming methods impact crop yields, soil health, ecosystem services, and farm profitability (Sec. 1248(c)(1) and (c)(2))
• The Secretary must establish a secure data center that protects farmer privacy while allowing researchers and academics to access data for technical assistance, with rules preventing the sale of individual farmer data (Sec. 1248(d))
• The Secretary must make research findings and analysis publicly available online in a way that is easy for farmers and researchers to access (Sec. 1248(c)(10))
• Within 3 years, the Secretary must provide farmers with internet-based tools showing how different practices affect their specific farm and the broader region (Sec. 1248(e))
• The Secretary must submit yearly reports to Congress about data analysis, the number of farmers who voluntarily shared data, and new planned activities (Sec. 1248(g))
What Changes
The Department of Agriculture will create a new data system to track which farming practices help or harm soil, crops, and the environment. Farmers can voluntarily share information about their operations. The Department will use existing funds to build this system and will never force farmers to provide data or use the new tools.
Important Definitions
"Covered conservation practice" means specific farming methods designed to protect soil health and farm productivity while keeping crop yields strong, as decided by the Secretary (Sec. 1248(b)(1))
"Other production practice" means methods used to grow crops or raise livestock, including pest control, nutrient management, manure management, water management, and crop residue management (Sec. 1248(b)(3))
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 98
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the Secretary of
Agriculture to improve agricultural productivity, profitability, resilience,
and ecological outcomes through modernized data infrastructure and
analysis, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY 26, 2023
Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. THUNE) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu-
trition, and Forestry
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the
Secretary of Agriculture to improve agricultural produc-
tivity, profitability, resilience, and ecological outcomes
through modernized data infrastructure and analysis,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agriculture Innovation
4
Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. DATA ON CONSERVATION AND OTHER PRODUCTION
1
PRACTICES.
2
Subtitle E of title XII of the Food Security Act of
3
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841 et seq.) is amended by adding at
4
the end the following:
5
‘‘SEC. 1248. DATA ON CONSERVATION AND OTHER PRODUC-
6
TION PRACTICES.
7
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to im-
8
prove conservation outcomes, increase agricultural produc-
9
tivity and resilience, and accelerate the development of
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carbon and other ecosystem service markets by collecting,
11
analyzing, and providing data—
12
‘‘(1) to better understand how covered con-
13
servation practices and suites of covered conserva-
14
tion practices and other production practices impact
15
farm, ranch, and other working land productivity
16
and profitability (such as crop yields, soil health,
17
and other risk-reducing factors);
18
‘‘(2) to support the measurement and quan-
19
tification of ecosystem services provided by working
20
land, such as carbon sequestration, water filtration,
21
and habitat, that result from covered conservation
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practices and other production practices; and
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‘‘(3) to improve the implementation of Depart-
24
ment programs to optimize productivity, profit-
25
ability, and ecological benefits.
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‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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‘‘(1) COVERED CONSERVATION PRACTICE.—The
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term ‘covered conservation practice’ means a specific
3
conservation practice or enhancement that is de-
4
signed to protect soil health, farm and ranch produc-
5
tivity, or both (including the protection of wildlife
6
habitat) while maintaining or enhancing crop yields
7
in an economically sustainable manner (including
8
such a conservation practice or enhancement that is
9
supported by the Department or used independently
10
by a producer), as determined by the Secretary.
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‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’
12
means the Department of Agriculture.
13
‘‘(3) OTHER
PRODUCTION
PRACTICE.—The
14
term ‘other production practice’ means a practice
15
used to produce a crop or livestock, including pest
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control, nutrient management, manure management,
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water and irrigation management, seed, feed and nu-
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trition, and crop residue management.
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‘‘(c) DATA COLLECTION, REVIEW, ANALYSIS, AND
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, acting through
21
the 1 or more applicable Under Secretaries that head mis-
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sion areas relating to farm and ranch productivity and
23
conservation, in coordination with the Chief Data Officer
24
of the Department, the Chief Economist, and the Under
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Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, shall
1
carry out the following activities:
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‘‘(1) Identify in the data inventory maintained
3
by the Secretary under section 3511 of title 44,
4
United States Code, data relating to the impacts of
5
covered conservation practices and other production
6
practices on enhancing crop yields, soil health, and
7
ecosystem services, reducing risk, and improving
8
farm, ranch, and other working land profitability
9
generated or collected by the Department, including
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the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management
11
Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service,
12
the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Eco-
13
nomic Research Service, the Forest Service, and any
14
other relevant agency, as determined by the Sec-
15
retary.
16
‘‘(2) Collect or acquire, using other authorities
17
of the Secretary, and using technology and a mod-
18
ernized survey system, to the greatest extent prac-
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ticable, or another appropriate method, any addi-
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tional producer data, baseline data, or other data re-
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lating to the impacts of covered conservation prac-
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tices and other production practices on enhancing
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crop yields, soil health, and ecosystem services, re-
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ducing risk, and improving farm, ranch, and other
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•S 98 IS
working land profitability necessary to achieve the
1
purpose described in subsection (a), ensuring that
2
data is collected from all types and sizes of oper-
3
ations.
4
‘‘(3) Ensure that producer data identified or
5
collected under paragraph (1) or (2) are collected in
6
a compatible format that is machine-readable (as de-
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fined in section 3502 of title 44, United States
8
Code) at the field- and farm-level and in a manner
9
that places the lowest practicable burden on pro-
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ducers and improves the interoperability of the data
11
collected by the Department for the purposes of this
12
section and optimizes the interoperability, to the ex-
13
tent practicable, with data relating to conservation
14
practices generated by other organizations and other
15
activities of the Department.
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‘‘(4) Establish procedures for producers to vol-
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untarily provide supplemental data that may be use-
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ful in statistical activities (as defined in section 311
19
of title 5, United States Code) and activities to build
20
evidence (as defined in that section) of the impacts
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of covered conservation practices on—
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‘‘(A) enhancing crop yields, soil health,
23
and ecosystem services;
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‘‘(B) reducing risk; and
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‘‘(C) improving farm, ranch, and other
1
working land profitability.
2
‘‘(5) Integrate, collate, and link, to the greatest
3
extent practicable, data identified or collected under
4
this subsection with other government or nongovern-
5
mental data sources that include crop yields, soil
6
health, covered conservation practices, and other
7
production practices.
8
‘‘(6) Establish a conservation and farm produc-
9
tivity secure data center designed to carry out the
10
purposes of this section that ensures the security,
11
privacy, and integrity of data.
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‘‘(7) Make available data through the secure
13
data center established under paragraph (6) to aca-
14
demic institutions and researchers that meet the
15
user permission requirements described in subsection
16
(d)(2)(A) for the provision of technical assistance.
17
‘‘(8) Analyze, consistent with the scientific in-
18
tegrity policy of the Department, the data identified
19
or collected under this subsection to consider the im-
20
pacts of covered conservation practices and other
21
production practices on enhancing crop yields, soil
22
health, and ecosystem services and improving farm,
23
ranch, and other working land profitability.
24
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•S 98 IS
‘‘(9) Use the results of the analyses under para-
1
graph (8) to improve the implementation of Depart-
2
ment programs to increase productivity, profitability,
3
and ecological benefits of farm, ranch, and other
4
working land, including relating to issues identified
5
in the evidence-building plan of the Department re-
6
quired under section 312 of title 5, United States
7
Code.
8
‘‘(10) Promptly make available on the public-
9
facing component of the secure data center estab-
10
lished under paragraph (6) the research, analysis,
11
evaluation products, and other information gen-
12
erated in carrying out this section (including open
13
Government data assets (as defined in section 3502
14
of title 44, United States Code), to the extent per-
15
missible by law)—
16
‘‘(A) that demonstrates the impacts of cov-
17
ered conservation practices and other produc-
18
tion practices on enhancing crop yields, soil
19
health, and ecosystem services, reducing risk,
20
and improving farm, ranch, and other working
21
land profitability; and
22
‘‘(B) in a manner that is easily accessed by
23
producers, researchers, and other stakeholders.
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‘‘(d) SECURE AGRICULTURAL DATA CENTER ESTAB-
1
LISHMENT.—
2
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter
3
into 1 or more agreements with 1 or more academic
4
institutions, organizations, government agencies, or
5
other experts determined necessary by the Secretary
6
to provide technical assistance, expertise, and tech-
7
nology infrastructure, as needed, to develop the se-
8
cure data center under subsection (c)(6).
9
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT TO MODERNIZE DATA SE-
10
CURITY, STORAGE, AND ACCESS.—
11
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In establishing the se-
12
cure data center described in paragraph (1), the
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Secretary shall use industry-standard data se-
14
curity protocols and user permissions to protect
15
the security and confidentiality of proprietary
16
producer data while automating and standard-
17
izing data collection, storage, and sharing, to
18
the greatest extent practicable, for the purpose
19
of carrying out this section and encouraging ag-
20
riculture innovation.
21
‘‘(B)
ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS.—In
22
carrying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary
23
shall establish procedures for the operation and
24
use of the secure data center that includes—
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•S 98 IS
‘‘(i) prohibiting the sale of any indi-
1
vidual or identifiable producer data;
2
‘‘(ii) requiring any published research
3
to release only aggregated data, consistent
4
with best practices for disclosure avoidance
5
and reducing the risk of re-identification;
6
and
7
‘‘(iii) periodically consulting with ex-
8
perts and stakeholders to consider nec-
9
essary modifications to security protocols
10
or confidentiality protections for identifi-
11
able data accessed or maintained by the se-
12
cure data center and improvements to ac-
13
cess for approved users.
14
‘‘(e) PRODUCER TOOLS.—
15
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years
16
after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec-
17
retary shall provide technical assistance, including
18
through internet-based tools, based on the analysis
19
conducted in carrying out this section and other
20
sources of relevant data, to assist producers in im-
21
proving sustainable production practices that in-
22
crease yields and enhance environmental outcomes.
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‘‘(2) INTERNET-BASED TOOLS.—Internet-based
1
tools described in paragraph (1) shall provide to pro-
2
ducers, to the greatest extent practicable—
3
‘‘(A) confidential data specific to each
4
farm or ranch of the producer; and
5
‘‘(B) general data relating to the impacts
6
of covered conservation practices on enhancing
7
crop yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing
8
risk and improving farm and ranch profit-
9
ability.
10
‘‘(f) EFFECT
ON PRIVACY PROTECTION LAWS.—
11
Nothing in this section affects the applicability to this sec-
12
tion of—
13
‘‘(1) section 1770;
14
‘‘(2) section 1619 of the Food, Conservation,
15
and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8791);
16
‘‘(3) section 502(c) of the Federal Crop Insur-
17
ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(c));
18
‘‘(4) section 552a of title 5, United States
19
Code; or
20
‘‘(5) any other applicable privacy law that pro-
21
tects personally identifiable information of pro-
22
ducers.
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‘‘(g) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the
24
date of enactment of this section, and each year there-
25
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•S 98 IS
after, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ag-
1
riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the
2
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives
3
a report that includes—
4
‘‘(1) a summary of the analysis conducted
5
under this section;
6
‘‘(2) the number and regions of producers that
7
voluntarily provided data under subsection (c)(4);
8
‘‘(3) a description of any additional or new ac-
9
tivities planned to be conducted under this section in
10
the next fiscal year, including—
11
‘‘(A) research relating to any additional
12
conservation practices;
13
‘‘(B) any new types of data to be collected;
14
‘‘(C) any improved or streamlined data col-
15
lection efforts associated with this section; and
16
‘‘(D) any new research projects; and
17
‘‘(4) in the case of the first 2 reports submitted
18
under this subsection, a description of the current
19
status of the implementation of activities under sub-
20
section (c).
21
‘‘(h) FUNDING
AND ADMINISTRATION.—The Sec-
22
retary shall use the existing funds and authorities of the
23
Department to carry out this section.
24
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‘‘(i) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section authorizes the
1
Secretary to compel a producer—
2
‘‘(1) to provide data to the Department; or
3
‘‘(2) to receive technical assistance.’’.
4
Æ
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