Agriculture Innovation Act of 2023

Subjects: Agriculture and Food

Summary:  <p><b>Agriculture Innovation Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify, collect, link, and analyze certain data on the impact of conservation practices and other production practices on farm, ranch, and other working land profitability, including the effect on enhancing crop yields, soil health, ecosystem services, and other risk-reducing factors.</p> <p>Additionally, USDA must</p> <ul> <li>establish a conservation and farm productivity secure data center that ensures the security, privacy, and integrity of data;</li> <li>make the results of the data collection and analysis available through the secure data center to academic institutions and researchers; and</li> <li> 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.</li> </ul>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 98 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






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, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Agriculture Innovation Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. DATA ON CONSERVATION AND OTHER PRODUCTION 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. 1248. DATA ON CONSERVATION AND OTHER PRODUCTION PRACTICES.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to improve 
conservation outcomes, increase agricultural productivity and 
resilience, and accelerate the development of carbon and other 
ecosystem service markets by collecting, analyzing, and providing 
data--
            ``(1) to better understand how covered conservation 
        practices and suites of covered conservation practices and 
        other production practices impact farm, ranch, and other 
        working land productivity and profitability (such as crop 
        yields, soil health, and other risk-reducing factors);
            ``(2) to support the measurement and quantification of 
        ecosystem services provided by working land, such as carbon 
        sequestration, water filtration, and habitat, that result from 
        covered conservation practices and other production practices; 
        and
            ``(3) to improve the implementation of Department programs 
        to optimize productivity, profitability, and ecological 
        benefits.
    ``(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.
            ``(3) Other production practice.--The term `other 
        production practice' means a practice used to produce a crop or 
        livestock, including pest control, nutrient management, manure 
        management, water and irrigation management, seed, feed and 
        nutrition, and crop residue management.
    ``(c) Data Collection, Review, Analysis, and Technical 
Assistance.--The Secretary, acting through the 1 or more applicable 
Under Secretaries that head mission areas relating to farm and ranch 
productivity and conservation, in coordination with the Chief Data 
Officer of the Department, the Chief Economist, and the Under Secretary 
for Research, Education, and Economics, shall carry out the following 
activities:
            ``(1) Identify in the data inventory maintained by the 
        Secretary under section 3511 of title 44, United States Code, 
        data relating to the impacts of covered conservation practices 
        and other production practices on enhancing crop yields, soil 
        health, and ecosystem services, reducing risk, and improving 
        farm, ranch, and other working land 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.
            ``(2) Collect or acquire, using other authorities of the 
        Secretary, and using technology and a modernized survey system, 
        to the greatest extent practicable, or another appropriate 
        method, any additional producer data, baseline data, or other 
        data relating to the impacts of covered conservation practices 
        and other production practices on enhancing crop yields, soil 
        health, and ecosystem services, reducing risk, and improving 
        farm, ranch, and other working land profitability necessary to 
        achieve the purpose described in subsection (a), ensuring that 
        data is collected from all types and sizes of operations.
            ``(3) Ensure that producer data identified or collected 
        under paragraph (1) or (2) are collected in a compatible format 
        that is machine-readable (as defined in section 3502 of title 
        44, United States Code) 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 data relating 
        to conservation practices generated by other organizations and 
        other activities of the Department.
            ``(4) Establish procedures for producers to voluntarily 
        provide supplemental data that may be useful in statistical 
        activities (as defined in section 311 of title 5, United States 
        Code) and activities to build evidence (as defined in that 
        section) of the impacts of covered conservation practices on--
                    ``(A) enhancing crop yields, soil health, and 
                ecosystem services;
                    ``(B) reducing risk; and
                    ``(C) improving farm, ranch, and other working land 
                profitability.
            ``(5) Integrate, collate, and link, to the greatest extent 
        practicable, data identified or collected under this subsection 
        with other government or nongovernmental data sources that 
        include crop yields, soil health, covered conservation 
        practices, and other production practices.
            ``(6) Establish a conservation and farm productivity secure 
        data center designed to carry out the purposes of this section 
        that ensures the security, privacy, and integrity of data.
            ``(7) Make available data through the secure data center 
        established under paragraph (6) to academic institutions and 
        researchers that meet the user permission requirements 
        described in subsection (d)(2)(A) for the provision of 
        technical assistance.
            ``(8) Analyze, consistent with the scientific integrity 
        policy of the Department, the data identified or collected 
        under this subsection to consider the impacts of covered 
        conservation practices and other production practices on 
        enhancing crop yields, soil health, and ecosystem services and 
        improving farm, ranch, and other working land profitability.
            ``(9) Use the results of the analyses under paragraph (8) 
        to improve the implementation of Department programs to 
        increase productivity, profitability, and ecological benefits 
        of farm, ranch, and other working land, including relating to 
        issues identified in the evidence-building plan of the 
        Department required under section 312 of title 5, United States 
        Code.
            ``(10) Promptly make available on the public-facing 
        component of the secure data center established under paragraph 
        (6) the research, analysis, evaluation products, and other 
        information generated in carrying out this section (including 
        open Government data assets (as defined in section 3502 of 
        title 44, United States Code), to the extent permissible by 
        law)--
                    ``(A) that demonstrates the impacts of covered 
                conservation practices and other production practices 
                on enhancing crop yields, soil health, and ecosystem 
                services, reducing risk, and improving farm, ranch, and 
                other working land profitability; and
                    ``(B) in a manner that is easily accessed by 
                producers, researchers, and other stakeholders.
    ``(d) Secure Agricultural Data Center Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may enter into 1 or more 
        agreements with 1 or more academic institutions, organizations, 
        government agencies, or other experts determined necessary by 
        the Secretary to provide technical assistance, expertise, and 
        technology infrastructure, as needed, to develop the secure 
        data center under subsection (c)(6).
            ``(2) Requirement to modernize data security, storage, and 
        access.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In establishing the secure data 
                center described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
                use industry-standard data security protocols and user 
                permissions to protect the security and confidentiality 
                of proprietary producer data while automating and 
                standardizing data collection, storage, and sharing, to 
                the greatest extent practicable, for the purpose of 
                carrying out this section and encouraging agriculture 
                innovation.
                    ``(B) Additional requirements.--In carrying out 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall establish 
                procedures for the operation and use of the secure data 
                center that includes--
                            ``(i) prohibiting the sale of any 
                        individual or identifiable producer data;
                            ``(ii) requiring any published research to 
                        release only aggregated data, consistent with 
                        best practices for disclosure avoidance and 
                        reducing the risk of re-identification; and
                            ``(iii) periodically consulting with 
                        experts and stakeholders to consider necessary 
                        modifications to security protocols or 
                        confidentiality protections for identifiable 
                        data accessed or maintained by the secure data 
                        center and improvements to access for approved 
                        users.
    ``(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 greatest 
        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, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate 
and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a 
report that includes--
            ``(1) a summary of the analysis conducted under this 
        section;
            ``(2) the number and regions of producers that voluntarily 
        provided data under subsection (c)(4);
            ``(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 2 reports submitted under 
        this subsection, a description of the current status of the 
        implementation of activities under subsection (c).
    ``(h) Funding and Administration.--The Secretary shall use the 
existing funds and authorities of the Department to carry out this 
section.
    ``(i) Effect.--Nothing in this section authorizes the Secretary to 
compel a producer--
            ``(1) to provide data to the Department; or
            ``(2) to receive technical assistance.''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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