‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under paragraph (1), a State shall submit an 
application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may re-
quire, including a description of how the State will— 
‘‘(A) collaborate with a partnership of enti-
ties, which may include State agencies, local 
governments, institutions of higher education, 
soil and water conservation districts, producers, 
Indian tribes, agricultural associations, non-
profit entities, and other relevant entities to 
carry out precision conservation pilot programs; 
and 
‘‘(B) give priority to assisting producers 
with projects within critical areas, including— 
‘‘(i) critical conservation areas des-
ignated under section 1271F; and 
‘‘(ii) critical watersheds, as defined by 
such State. 
‘‘(3) MATCHING FUNDS.—A State awarded a 
grant under this subsection shall provide non-Fed-
eral funds, including cash and in-kind contributions, 
in an amount that is at least equal to the amount 
of such grant. 
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‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—A State awarded a grant 
under this section may use grant funds only— 
‘‘(A) to educate and recruit agricultural 
producers to participate in the pilot program; 
‘‘(B) to provide technical and financial as-
sistance to producers that elect to participate in 
a precision conservation pilot program for 
which the State received a grant under this sec-
tion to create and implement precision con-
servation plans; 
‘‘(C) to monitor and analyze the effective-
ness of such precision conservation plans; and 
‘‘(D) to encourage the use of precision ag-
riculture technology to achieve conservation 
benefits. 
‘‘(5) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of infor-
mation furnished by a producer or State in 
order to facilitate the creation and implementa-
tion of a precision conservation plan pursuant 
to paragraph (4)(B) or comply with the report-
ing requirements under paragraph (6)(B), the 
Secretary, any other officer or employee of the 
Department of Agriculture or agency thereof, or 
any other person may not— 
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‘‘(i) use such information for a pur-
pose other than the development or report-
ing of aggregate data under paragraphs 
(6) and (7) in a manner such that the 
identity of the producer who supplied such 
information is not discernible and is not 
material to the intended uses of such infor-
mation; or 
‘‘(ii) disclose the information to any 
person or any Federal, State, local, or trib-
al agency outside the Department of Agri-
culture, unless the information has been 
converted into a statistical or aggregate 
form that does not allow the identification 
of the producer that supplied particular in-
formation. 
‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this paragraph shall be construed to limit a 
producer from sharing the information fur-
nished by such producer pursuant to subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(6) STATE REPORTING.— 
‘‘(A) REPORTS TO PRODUCERS.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date on which a State as-
sists a producer with the creation of a precision 
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conservation 
plan 
pursuant 
to 
paragraph 
(4)(B), and each year for the succeeding 4 
years thereafter, the State shall submit to such 
producer a report that includes an analysis of 
the effectiveness of the precision conservation 
plan for such producer. 
‘‘(B) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.— 
‘‘(i) ANNUAL.—Not later than one 
year after the date on which a State re-
ceives grant funds under this section, and 
each year for the succeeding 3 years there-
after, the State shall submit to the Sec-
retary a report that includes the data used 
to create, implement, and analyze precision 
conservation plans pursuant to this sub-
section. 
‘‘(ii) 5-YEAR REPORT.—Not later than 
5 years after the date on which a State re-
ceives grant funds under this section, the 
State shall submit to the Secretary a re-
port that includes an analysis of the effec-
tiveness the use of grant funds under this 
subsection has had in fostering— 
‘‘(I) improved soil health; 
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‘‘(II) reduced soil erosion and soil 
runoff; 
‘‘(III) improved water quality; 
‘‘(IV) improved understanding of 
the relationship between precision ag-
riculture technology and conservation 
improvement; and 
‘‘(V) the effectiveness of different 
methods used. 
‘‘(7) SOIL NUTRIENT RETENTION DATABASE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
use the data reported under paragraph (6) to 
establish and maintain a publically available soil 
nutrient retention database that provides— 
‘‘(i) a compilation and analysis of ef-
fective conservation practices for nutrient 
management in varying soil compositions, 
cropping systems, slopes, and landscapes; 
and 
‘‘(ii) recommended new and effective 
conservation practices for nutrient man-
agement. 
‘‘(B) FUNDING FOR DATABASE.—The Sec-
retary may reserve up to $75,000 of the funds 
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made available under subsection (f)(3) to carry 
out this paragraph.’’. 
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Section 1240B(f) of 
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(f)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(3) PRECISION
CONSERVATION
PILOT
PRO-
GRAM.—For each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, 
at least 5 percent of the funds made available for 
payments under the program shall be targeted for 
the precision conservation pilot program under sub-
section (j).’’. 
Æ 
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