12 2 STA T . 1 75 1 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 46—J U NE 1 8, 2008 (1)DEFIN I T I O NOF AGR I CUL TURAL O P ERATION .—Inthis s ub- s ec ti o n , the te rm‘ ‘ ag ricu l tural o p eration ’ ’ inclu d es the produc- tion and mar k eting o f agricultural commodities and li v estock. ( 2 ) P RO H I B ITION.— Ex cept as provided in paragraphs ( 3 ) and ( 4 ), the S ecretar y , any officer or employee of the Depart- ment of A griculture, or any contractor or cooperator of the Department, shall not disclose— (A) information provided by an agricultural producer oro w ner of agricultural land concerning the agricultural operation, farming or conservation practices, or the land itself, in order to participate in programs of the Depart- ment
or ( B ) geospatial information otherwise maintained by the Secretary about agricultural land or operations for which information described in subparagraph (A) is provided. (3) AUTHORI Z E D DI S CLOSURES.— (A) L I M ITED RELEASE OF INFORMATION.—If the Sec- retary determines that the information described in para- graph (2) will not be subse q uently disclosed except in accordance with paragraph (4), the Secretary may release or disclose the information to a person or F ederal, State, local, or tribal agency working in cooperation with the Secretary in any Department program— (i) when providing technical or financial assistance with respect to the agricultural operation, agricultural land, or farming or conservation practices; or (ii) when responding to a disease or pest threat to agricultural operations, if the Secretary determines that a threat to agricultural operations exists and the disclosure of information to a person or cooperating government entity is necessary to assist the Secretary in responding to the disease or pest threat as author- i z ed by law. (4) E X CEPTIONS.— N othing in this subsection affects— (A) the disclosure of payment information (including payment information and the names and addresses of recipients of payments) under any Department program that is otherwise authorized by law; (B) the disclosure of information described in para- graph (2) if the information has been transformed into a statistical or aggregate form without naming any— (i) individual owner, operator, or producer; or (ii) specific data gathering site; or ( C ) the disclosure of information described in para- graph (2) pursuant to the consent of the agricultural pro- ducer or owner of agricultural land. ( 5 ) CONDITION OF OTHER PROGRAMS.— T he participation of the agricultural producer or owner of agricultural land in, or receipt of any benefit under, any program administered by the Secretary may not be conditioned on the consent of the agricultural producer or owner of agricultural land under paragraph (4)(C). ( 6 ) W AI V ER OF PRIVILEGE OR PROTECTION.—The disclosure of information under paragraph (2) shall not constitute a waiver of any applicable privilege or protection under Federal law, including trade secret protection.
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