(a) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall collect, compile, systematize, tabulate, and publish statistical information relating to agriculture. The Department is authorized to use sample surveys to collect primary data relating to agriculture. The Department is authorized to cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture and the several boards of county commissioners of the State, to accomplish the purpose of this Part.

(b) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall biennially collect information on water use by persons who withdraw 10,000 gallons per day or more of water from the surface or groundwater sources of the State for activities directly related or incidental to the production of crops, fruits, vegetables, ornamental and flowering plants, dairy products, livestock, poultry, and other agricultural products. The information shall be collected by survey conducted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and in accordance with Title 7 United States Code § 2276 (Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act). The Department shall develop the survey form in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality. The Department shall report the results of the water use survey to the Environmental Review Commission no later than July 1 of each year in which the survey was collected and shall provide a copy of the report to the Department of Environmental Quality. The report shall include recommendations about modifications to the survey, including changes in the gallons per day threshold for water use data collection. The report shall provide agricultural water use data by county. If the county is located in more than one river basin, the report shall separate the county data to show agricultural water use by river basin within the county. If publication of county or watershed data would result in disclosure of an individual operation’s water use, the data will be combined with data from another county or watershed. (1921, c. 201, s. 1; C.S., s. 4689(a); 1941, c. 343; 1975, c. 611, s. 1; 1979, c. 228, s. 1; 1997-261, s. 25; 2008-143, s. 2(a); 2013-265, s. 6; 2015-241, s. 14.30(u).)