Agriculture Data Act of 2018

Summary: Agriculture Data Act of 2018  This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to collect, review, analyze, and disseminate certain data on the impact of conservation practices on farm and ranch profitability, including the effect on crop yields, soil health, and other risk-reducing factors.  The bill also requires USDA to establish a conservation and farm productivity data warehouse to make the results of the data collection and analysis available to academic institutions and researchers.  USDA must also provide technical assistance, including through internet-based tools, based on the analysis conducted and other relevant data, to assist producers in improving sustainable production practices that increase yields and enhance environmental outcomes. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Agriculture Data Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. DATA ON CONSERVATION PRACTICES.

    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:

``SEC. 1247. DATA ON CONSERVATION PRACTICES.

    ``(a) Purpose.--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.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered conservation practice.--The term `covered 
        conservation practice' means a specific conservation practice 
        or enhancement that is designed to protect soil health, farm 
        and ranch productivity, or both (including the protection of 
        wildlife habitat) while maintaining or enhancing crop yields in 
        an economically sustainable manner (including such a 
        conservation practice or enhancement that is supported by the 
        Department or used independently by a producer), as determined 
        by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Department.--The term `Department' means the 
        Department of Agriculture.
    ``(c) Data Collection, Review, Analysis, and Technical 
Assistance.--The Secretary, acting through the one or more applicable 
Under Secretaries that head mission areas relating to farm and ranch 
productivity and conservation, in coordination with the Chief Economist 
and the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, shall 
carry out the following activities:
            ``(1) Not less frequently than once each year, 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 on 
        enhancing crop yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing risk 
        and improving farm and ranch profitability.
            ``(2) Identify currently collected data relating to the 
        impacts of covered conservation practices on enhancing crop 
        yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing risk and improving 
        farm and ranch profitability generated or 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, the Forest Service, and any other relevant 
        agency, as determined by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Collect any additional producer data, baseline data, 
        or other data relating to the impacts of covered conservation 
        practices on enhancing crop yields, soil health, and otherwise 
        reducing risk and improving farm and ranch profitability 
        necessary to achieve the purpose described in subsection (a).
            ``(4) Ensure that producer data identified or collected 
        under paragraph (2) or (3), respectively, are collected in a 
        compatible format at the field- and farm-level and in a manner 
        that places the lowest practicable burden on producers and 
        improves the interoperability of the data collected by the 
        Department for the purposes of this section and optimizes the 
        interoperability to the extent practicable with conservation 
        practice-related data generated by other organizations and 
        other activities of the Department.
            ``(5) Establish procedures for producers to voluntarily 
        elect to be contacted to participate in or submit additional 
        research and to provide supplemental data that may be useful in 
        analyzing the impacts of covered conservation practices on 
        enhancing crop yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing risk 
        and improving farm and ranch profitability.
            ``(6) Integrate and analyze the data identified or 
        collected under this subsection to consider the impacts of 
        covered conservation practices on enhancing crop yields, soil 
        health, and otherwise improving farm and ranch profitability.
            ``(7) To the extent practicable, integrate, collate, and 
        link data identified in this subsection with other external 
        data sources that include crop yields, soil health, and 
        conservation practices.
            ``(8) Establish a conservation and farm productivity data 
        warehouse in order to make the results of the data collection 
        and analysis under this subsection available to academic 
        institutions and researchers determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary under subsection (d)(1).
            ``(9) Widely disseminate the research, analyzed data, and 
        other information obtained through carrying out this section 
        that demonstrates the impacts of covered conservation practices 
        on enhancing crop yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing 
        risk and improving farm and ranch profitability in a manner 
        that makes it easily used and implemented by producers and 
        other stakeholders.
    ``(d) Collaboration With Research Academic Institutions or 
Researchers.--
            ``(1) In general.--To carry out this section, the Secretary 
        may enter into one or more agreements with one or more academic 
        institutions or researchers determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary--
                    ``(A) to provide technical assistance, expertise, 
                and technology infrastructure, as needed, to develop 
                the data warehouse established under subsection (c)(8);
                    ``(B) to provide to those academic institutions and 
                researchers access to data collected in carrying out 
                this section; and
                    ``(C) to establish procedures for producers to 
                voluntarily elect to be contacted to participate in or 
                submit additional research and to provide supplemental 
                data that may be useful in analyzing the impacts of 
                covered conservation practices on enhancing crop 
                yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing risk and 
                improving farm and ranch profitability.
            ``(2) Procedures to protect integrity and 
        confidentiality.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Before providing access to any 
                data under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish 
                procedures to protect the integrity and confidentiality 
                of proprietary producer data.
                    ``(B) Requirements.--Procedures under subparagraph 
                (A) shall provide appropriate private protections to 
                the producer data, including--
                            ``(i) prohibiting the sale of any 
                        individual producer data; and
                            ``(ii) requiring any published research to 
                        release only aggregated data.
    ``(e) Producer Tools.--
            ``(1) In general.--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.
            ``(2) Internet-based tools.--Internet-based tools described 
        in paragraph (1) shall provide to producers, to the maximum 
        extent practicable--
                    ``(A) confidential data specific to each farm or 
                ranch of the producer; and
                    ``(B) general data relating to the impacts of 
                covered conservation practices on enhancing crop 
                yields, soil health, and otherwise reducing risk and 
                improving farm and ranch profitability.
    ``(f) Effect on Privacy Protection Laws.--Nothing in this section 
affects the applicability to this section of--
            ``(1) section 1770;
            ``(2) section 1619 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 
        Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8791);
            ``(3) section 502(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
        U.S.C. 1502(c));
            ``(4) section 552a of title 5, United States Code; or
            ``(5) any other applicable privacy law that protects 
        personally identifiable information of producers.
    ``(g) Reporting.--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--
            ``(1) a summary of the analysis conducted under this 
        section;
            ``(2) the number and regions of producers that voluntarily 
        submitted information under subsections (c)(5) and (d)(1)(C);
            ``(3) a description of any additional or new activities 
        planned to be conducted under this section in the next fiscal 
        year, including--
                    ``(A) research relating to any additional 
                conservation practices;
                    ``(B) any new types of data to be collected;
                    ``(C) any improved or streamlined data collection 
                efforts associated with this section; and
                    ``(D) any new research projects; and
            ``(4) in the case of the first two reports submitted under 
        this subsection, a description of the current status of the 
        implementation of activities under subsection (c).''.