,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #daeb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ai1 #bjbf,mr4 ,thune 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 and ,ms4 ,baldwin7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,agricultural ,marketing ,act of #aidf to establish a mandatory price reporting program for fertilizer1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fertilizer ,transparency ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,fertilizer mandatory reporting ,subtitle ,a of the ,agricultural ,marketing ,act of #aidf 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #afba et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #baj;,b4 ,fertilizer mandatory reporting 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,affiliate ,the term affiliate means1 with respect to a manufacturer or wholesaler 7excluding a cooperative71 a person that directly or indirectly owns1 controls1 or holds1 with voting power1 not less than #e percent of the outstanding voting securities of the manufacturer or wholesaler 7excluding a cooperative74 7#b7 ,cooperative 7,a7 ,in general ,the term cooperative means-- 7i7 an association of agricultural producers acting pursuant to-- 7,i7 the ,act entitled ,an ,act to authorize association of producers of agricultural products 7commonly known as the ,capper-,volstead ,act7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bia et seq472 7,,ii7 the ,agricultural ,adjustment ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #fja et seq471 reenacted with amendments by the ,agricultural ,marketing ,agreement ,act of #aicg2 or 7,,iii7 the ,act of ,july #b1 #aibf 7commonly known as the ,cooperative ,marketing ,act7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #dea et seq472 7ii7 a farmers' cooperative organization described in subsection 7b77#a7 of section #eba of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and exempt from taxation under subsection 7a7 of that section2 and 7iii7 an association of agricultural producers otherwise operating on a cooperative basis for the benefit of its members4 7,b7 ,inclusions ,the term cooperative includes any entity not less than #be percent of which is owned by a cooperative1 as defined in subparagraph 7,a74 7#c7 ,marketed ,the term marketed means the sale or other disposition in commerce of-- 7,a7 nitrogen1 phosphorous1 or potassium for use as fertilizer2 or 7,b7 a fertilizer product4 7#d7 ,retailer ,the term retailer means a person or entity that primarily sells fertilizer products at retail4 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 7#f7 ,wholesaler ,the term wholesaler means any person or entity1 not including a cooperative1 engaged in the business of buying and selling fertilizer or fertilizer products for resale or distribution4 7b7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary shall establish a program of fertilizer and fertilizer product price information reporting that will-- 7#a7 provide timely1 accurate1 and reliable market information that can be readily understood by farmers and market participants2 7#b7 facilitate more informed marketing decisions2 and 7#c7 promote competition in the fertilizer and fertilizer products industry4 7c7 ,general reporting provisions applicable to manufacturers1 wholesalers1 and the ,secretary ,whenever the prices or quantities of fertilizer or fertilizer products are required to be reported or published under this section1 the prices or quantities shall be categorized so as to clearly delineate-- 7#a7 the prices or quantities1 as applicable1 of the fertilizer or fertilizer product marketed in the ,united ,states by a domestic manufacturer or wholesaler or an affiliate of a domestic manufacturer or wholesaler2 and 7#b7 the prices or quantities1 as applicable1 of the fertilizer or fertilizer product marketed in the ,united ,states by a foreign manufacturer or wholesaler or an affiliate of a foreign manufacturer or wholesaler4 7d7 ,weekly reporting 7#a7 ,nitrogen1 phosphorous1 and potassium ,the corporate officers or officially designated representatives of each manufacturer or wholesaler of nitrogen1 phosphorous1 or potassium for use as fertilizer shall report to the ,secretary at least weekly-- 7,a7 the prices1 as marketed1 for nitrogen1 phosphorous1 or potassium1 as applicable2 and 7,b7 the quantities of nitrogen1 phosphorous1 or potassium1 as applicable1 manufactured and marketed1 as applicable4 7#b7 ,fertilizer products ,the corporate officers or officially designated representatives of each manufacturer or wholesaler of a fertilizer product shall report to the ,secretary at least weekly-- 7,a7 the prices for the fertilizer product2 and 7,b7 the quantity of the fertilizer product manufactured or marketed1 as applicable4 7#c7 ,mandatory reporting exemption for cooperatives and non-manufacturer retailers2 voluntary reporting ,the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 exempt all cooperatives and retailers 7except for retailers that are also manufacturers7 from any mandatory price reporting under this section2 and 7,b7 provide a mechanism for cooperatives and retailers to voluntarily and confidentially report the prices and quantities described in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 of paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7-- 7i7 directly to the ,secretary2 or 7ii7 through the program established under subsection 7e74 7#d7 ,publication ,the ,secretary shall make the information reported to the ,secretary under this subsection available to the public-- 7,a7 not less frequently than weekly2 and 7,b7 in a manner that ensures the information is published-- 7i7 on a national basis2 and 7ii7 on a regional or statewide basis1 as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate4 7#e7 ,competitive effects analysis ,the ,secretary may conduct a competitive effects analysis of the information reported to the ,secretary under this subsection4 7e7 ,fertilizer retail survey 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish a program within ,market ,news of the ,agricultural ,marketing ,service-- 7,a7 to conduct not less frequently than weekly surveys of retail fertilizer prices2 7,b7 to obtain commercially available estimates of the retail prices described in subparagraph 7,a72 and 7,c7 to provide ,state or regional estimates or benchmarks and formulas to allow estimation of local prices4 7#b7 ,maintenance of existing activities ,the program established under paragraph 7#a7 shall supplement1 and not supplant1 existing input price collection activities of the ,secretary4 7f7 ,summary of data 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall1 directly or through #a or more cooperative agreements with #a or more affiliated agricultural research programs1 not less frequently than weekly summarize and make available on a dashboard or other resource easily accessible to farmers and market participants-- 7,a7 the information reported to the ,secretary under subsection 7d72 and 7,b7 the retail survey prices and commercially available estimates obtained under subsection 7e74 7#b7 ,protection of confidentiality ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall aggregate the information and data in a manner that prevents confidential business information and the identity of persons1 including parties to a contract1 from being disclosed publicly4 7#c7 ,disclosure by ,federal ,government employees 7,a7 ,in general ,subject to subparagraph 7,b71 no officer1 employee1 or agent of the ,united ,states shall1 without the consent of the manufacturer1 wholesaler1 or other person concerned1 divulge or make known in any manner any facts or information regarding the business of the manufacturer1 wholesaler1 or other person that was acquired through reporting required under subsection 7d74 7,b7 ,exception ,information obtained by the ,secretary under subsection 7d7 may be disclosed-- 7i7 to agents or employees of the ,department of ,agriculture in the course of their official duties under this subtitle2 7ii7 as directed by the ,secretary or the ,attorney ,general1 for enforcement purposes2 or 7iii7 by a court of competent jurisdiction4 7,c7 ,disclosure under freedom of information act ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 no facts or information obtained under this subtitle shall be disclosed in accordance with section #eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7g7 ,review ,not less frequently than once every #b years1 the ,secretary shall review the information required to be reported to the ,secretary by manufacturers and wholesalers under this section4 7h7 ,outdated information ,if the ,secretary determines under a review under subsection 7g7 that information required to be reported under this section no longer accurately reflects the methods by which nitrogen1 phosphorous1 and potassium for use as fertilizer or fertilizer products are valued and priced by manufacturers and wholesalers1 the ,secretary shall1 after public notice and an opportunity for comment1 promulgate regulations to specify additional information that shall be reported under this section4 7i7 ,application of antitrust laws 7#a7 ,in general ,nothing in this section modifies1 impairs1 or supersedes the operation of any of the antitrust laws4 7#b7 ,definition of antitrust laws ,in this subsection1 the term antitrust laws-- 7,a7 has the meaning given the term in subsection 7a7 of the first section of the ,clayton ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ab72 and 7,b7 includes section #e of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de7 to the extent that such section applies to unfair methods of competition4 4