WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry have introduced a bill aimed at strengthening USDA’s data collection related to conservation practices.

Sponsored by Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the legislation is intended to improve USDA’s ability to collect and share data to assess various conservation and production practices.

The bill, called the Agriculture Innovation Act, has received a mixed reception from farm groups.

Eric Deeble, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, which supports the bill, said farmers would benefit from having more data at their disposal — for instance, data showing one farming practice is more effective than another at boosting soil health.

“There are a couple of good parts to the bill, but I think the part that our members find most compelling is the additional collection and aggregation of data on conservation programs,” said Deeble.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, in contrast, does not support the legislation.

“(American Farm Bureau Federation) policy does not align with this bill in this instance,” said an AFBF spokeswoman. She declined to comment further.

Deeble, of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, said some farmers appear concerned about data privacy, but he dismissed this, saying the bill’s privacy protections are “very robust.”

The bill text says the U.S. Agriculture Secretary “shall use industry-standard data security protocols and user permissions to protect the security and confidentiality of proprietary user data.”

“This is not about auditing farmers,” Deeble said. “It’s about making sure that we have a good understanding about what kind of practices — particularly conservation practices — work well in different parts of the country so that USDA can give good guidance to farmers (who) are looking to improve their sustainability.”

The legislation would authorize the agriculture secretary to create a “conservation and farm productivity secure data center.”

Data would be collected in a few ways. Some would be pulled from existing inventories across USDA sub-agencies. The bill would also give USDA authority to “collect or acquire” new data, according to the bill’s text.

The goal, according to Deeble of NSAC, is not to deploy a force of data collectors but rather to use existing programs.

For example, the bill might enable more data collection in a voluntary grant program such as the Conservation Incentive Contract program, EQIP-CIC. A farmer might elect to participate in additional research or submit data to the grant program.

“It’s voluntary,” said Deeble.

Data could then be shared with academic institutions and researchers meeting specific requirements. The goal would be for researchers to look for common patterns and farming practices that are most effective, then make that information available to producers.

“Congress should help producers and trusted researchers — like land-grant universities — better utilize USDA’s data to more effectively identify the conservation practices that would best improve productivity on farm and ranch operations,” Thune said in a statement.

Klobuchar said the legislation would “provide farmers with better access to comprehensive USDA data.”

The bill has been endorsed by several organizations, including the National Corn Growers Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, American Farmland Trust, Environmental Defense Fund and Supporters of Agriculture Research.