ersconfidentialityagreement

Confidentiality Agreement
(Revised 2016)
USDA ERS
OMB No. 0536-XXXX
Exp. Date:

ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE
U.S. Department of Agriculture
355 E Street SW
Washington, DC 20024‐3221

CERTIFICATION AND RESTRICTIONS
ON THE USE OF CONFIDENTIAL ERS DATA
I,
, understand and agree to the following conditions concerning the
use of confidential data provided by the Economic Research Service (ERS) under CIPSEA regulations.
The specific data to which this request applies are:

The specific conditions of the agreement are:
a. All individual data are confidential, and (check one):
must be used on-site in ERS; or
must be used at an ERS approved remote location at
b. These data will be used for “statistical and economic research purposes” only. The data cannot be used
for non‐statistical purposes including administrative, regulatory, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or
other purposes that affect the rights, privileges, or benefits of a particular identifiable respondent.
c. No paper or electronic copies of individual survey responses can be created and removed from the site or
published. Summary statistics that could possibly reveal individual survey responses must not be
removed from the site or published.
d. A report of any type using the confidential data listed above will be provided to a representative of the ERS
Associate Administrator for disclosure clearance prior to publication or presentation. Any data contained
in the report such that the identity of the respondent providing the particular information is discernible,
must be appropriately modified or removed before the report may be published or released to the public.
e. I will not disseminate or share the individual survey data, whether in original form or aggregated, with
persons other than those who have completed this agreement and are directly associated with the project
for which the data were obtained.
f.

The data provided have not been published by the Economic Research Service (ERS) and cannot be
considered as official estimates.

g. All questions regarding access to these data shall be referred to the ERS Associate Administrator.
In addition to the above conditions, I have been provided (shown on reverse side) PL 107-347, Sec. 513, Fines
and Penalties, and Sec. 512, Limitations on Use and Disclosure of Data and Information; 18 U. S. Code 1902,
“Disclosure of crop information and speculation thereon”; 18 U. S. Code 1905, “Disclosure of confidential
information generally”; and 7 U. S. Code 2276, “Confidentiality of information”
This agreement must be renewed annually.
I certify that I have read the above-mentioned regulations this
by them.
Signature

day of

Organization or Agency/Div./Br.

, 20

, and will abide

City and State

Witnessed by:
Representative of Associate Administrator, Economic Research Service

Date

UNITED STATES CODE
Title 18, Section 1902

UNITED STATES CODE
Title 7, Section 2276

Disclosure of crop information and speculation
thereon.
Whoever, being an officer, employee or person acting
for or on behalf of the United States or any department
or agency thereof, and having by virtue of his office,
employment or position, become possessed of
information which might influence or affect the market
value of any product of the soil grown within the United
States, which information is by law or by the rules of
such department or agency required to be withheld
from publication until a fixed time, willfully imparts,
directly or indirectly, such information, or any part
thereof, to any person not entitled under the law or the
rules of the department or agency to receive the same,
or before such information is made public through
regular official channels, directly or indirectly
speculated in any such product by buying or selling the
same in any quantity, shall be fined not more than
$10,000 or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

Confidentiality of information.
(a) In the case of information furnished under a
provision of law . . . . , neither the Secretary of
Agriculture, any other officer or employee of
the Department of Agriculture or agency
thereof, nor any other person may:

No person shall be deemed guilty of a violation of any
such rules, unless prior to such alleged violation he
shall have had actual knowledge thereof.
UNITED STATES CODE
Title 18, Section 1905
Disclosure of confidential information generally.
Whoever, being an officer or employee of the United
States or of any department or agency thereof,
publishes, divulges, discloses, or makes known in any
manner or to any extent not authorized by law any
information coming to him in the course of his
employment or official duties or by reason of any
examination or investigation made by, or return, report
or record made to or filed with, such department or
agency or officer or employee thereof, which
information concerns or relates to the trade secrets,
processes, operations, style of work, or apparatus, or
to the identity, confidential statistical data, amount or
source of any income, profits, losses, or expenditures
of any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or
association; or permits any income return or copy
thereof or any book containing any abstract or
particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any
person except as provided by law; shall be fined not
more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one
year, or both and shall be removed from office or
employment.

(1) use such information for a purpose other
than the development or reporting of
aggregate data in a manner such that the
identity of the person who supplied such
information is not discernible and is not
material to the intended use of such
information; or
(2) disclose such information to the public,
unless such information has been
transformed into a statistical or aggregate
form that does not allow the identification of
the person who supplied particular
information.
(b) (1) In carrying out a provision of law . . . . , no
department, agency, officer, or employee
of the Federal Government, other than
the Secretary of Agriculture, shall require a
person to furnish a copy of statistical
information provided to the Department of
Agriculture.
(2) A copy of such information:
(A) shall be immune from mandatory
disclosure of any type, including legal
process; and
(B) shall not, without the consent of such
person be admitted as evidence or
used for any purpose in any action,
suit, or other judicial or administrative
proceeding.
(c) Any person who shall publish, cause to be
published, or otherwise publicly release
information collected pursuant to a provision of
law . . . ., in any manner or for any purpose
prohibited in section (a), shall be fined not
more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more
than one year, or both.

The information you provide will be used for statistical purposes only. Your responses will be kept confidential and any person who willfully
discloses ANY identifiable information about you or your operation is subject to a jail term, a fine, or both. This survey is conducted in
accordance with the Confidential Information Protection provisions of Title V, Subtitle A, Public Law 107-347 and other applicable Federal
laws. Response is voluntary.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a
collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB number is 0536-xxxx. The time required to complete
this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per project, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing
data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.