EVALUATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRACT OFFERS, ANNUAL RENTAL PAYMENTS, AND PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.

SEC. 2110. EVALUATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRACT OFFERS, ANNUAL RENTAL PAYMENTS, AND PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.(a) Evaluation and Acceptance of Contract Offers.—Section 1234(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following new paragraph:“(3) Acceptance of contract offers.—“(A) Evaluation of offers.—In determining the acceptability of contract offers, the Secretary may take into consideration the extent to which enrollment of the land that is the subject of the contract offer would improve soil resources, water quality, or wildlife habitat or provide other environmental benefits.“(B) Establishment of different criteria in various states and regions.—The Secretary may establish 122 STAT. 1035 different criteria for determining the acceptability of contract offers in various States and regions of the United States based on the extent to which water quality or wildlife habitat may be improved or erosion may be abated.“(C) Local preference.—In determining the acceptability of contract offers for new enrollments, the Secretary shall accept, to the maximum extent practicable, an offer from an owner or operator that is a resident of the county in which the land is located or of a contiguous county if, as determined by the Secretary, the land would provide at least equivalent conservation benefits to land under competing offers.”.(b) Annual Survey of Dryland and Irrigated Cash Rental Rates.—(1) Annual estimates required.—Section 1234(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(5) Rental rates.—“(A) Annual estimates.—The Secretary (acting through the National Agricultural Statistics Service) shall conduct an annual survey of per acre estimates of county average market dryland and irrigated cash rental rates for cropland and pastureland in all counties or equivalent subdivisions within each State that have 20,000 acres or more of cropland and pastureland.“(B) Public availability of estimates.—The estimates derived from the annual survey conducted under subparagraph (A) shall be maintained on a website of the Department of Agriculture for use by the general public.”.(2) First survey.—The first survey required by paragraph (5) of section 1234(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)), as added by subsection (a), shall be conducted not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.(c) Payment Limitations.—Section 1234(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(f)) is amended—(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “made to a person” and inserting “received by a person or legal entity, directly or indirectly,”;(2) by striking paragraph (2); and(3) in paragraph (4), by striking “any person” and inserting “any person or legal entity”.