§2279–1 Transparency and accountability for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers

Summary

Require the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and publish yearly data, for every county and State, showing how socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers apply to and take part in USDA programs. The data must include raw numbers and participation rates by race, ethnicity, and gender (with privacy protections the Secretary sets), and show those numbers as a percentage of total participation for all producers and landowners. USDA agencies must send any needed data, and the Secretary must use the National Agricultural Statistics Service systems to present results for the United States, each State, and each county. The report must be kept available to the public on a website and in other electronic and paper forms. The term "socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher" means the definition in section 2003(e). The Secretary must not reveal names or individual records. The data can only be used to assess and hold USDA accountable for nondiscriminatory participation and not to decide individual application outcomes. If a current or prospective producer asks for a USDA benefit in person or in writing from the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or a Rural Development agency, that office must give the person a receipt the same day showing the date, place, subject, and what action was taken, not taken, or recommended.