S.Amdt. 2534

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Welch to the bill H.R. 1, is all about keeping tabs on who owns and rents out our farmland. As folks we have voted into office, we need to make sure we know what is happening with the land that feeds us, and this amendment forces the government to check in on it regularly.

What it aims to change or add

The amendment adds a brand new section to the bill that requires the Secretary of Agriculture to do a few specific things:

• Develop surveys and collect information.
• Report regionally segmented statistical and economic analyses of data and trends in farmland ownership, tenure, and transition not less frequently than once every 3 years.
• Complete these initial actions not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Act.

What the surveys must ask about

The surveys designed to carry out this section have to include questions covering:

• Owners of farmland who do not operate on the farm and lease land to operators.
• Owners of farmland who operate on the farm and lease land to other operators.
• All farmland leased by those specific types of owners.
• All farmland, including land owned by farm operators who do not lease land out.
• The main reasons why farmland owners who are not farm operators buy farmland in the first place.
• How often farms and ranches have undivided interests and no identified administrative authority.