Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 99 Part 2.djvu/417

 PUBLIC LAW 99-198—DEC. 23, 1985

99 STAT. 1527

to a unit of local or State government or a private nonprofit organization separately from the underlying fee or sum of all other rights possessed by the United States."; and (3) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(e)(l) The Secretary shall to the extent practicable sell or lease farmland administered under this title in the following order of priority: (A) Sale of such farmland to operators (as of the time immediately before such sale) of not larger than family-size farms. "(B) Lease of such farmland to operators (as of the time immediately before such lease is entered into) of not larger than family-size farms. "(2) The Secretary shall not offer for sale or sell any such farmland if the placing of such farmland on the market will have a detrimental effect on the value of farmland in the area. "(3)(A) The Secretary shall consider granting, and may grant, to an operator of not larger than a family-size farm, in conjunction with paragraph (3), a lease with an option to purchase farmland administered under this title. "(B) The Secretary shall issue regulations providing for leasing such land, or leasing such land with an option to purchase, on a fair and equitable basis. "(C) In leasing such land, the Secretary shall give special consideration to a previous owner or operator of such land if such owner or operator has financial resources, and farm management skills and experience, that the Secretary determines are sufficient to assure a reasonable prospect of success in the proposed farming operation. "(D) To the extent the Secretary may lease or operate real property under this subsection, the Secretary shall, if the Secretary determines to administer such property through management contracts, offer the contracts on a competitive bid basis, giving preference to persons who will live in, and own and operate qualified small businesses in, the area where the property is located. "(4)(A)(i) The Secretary may sell farmland administered under this title through an installment sale or similar device that contains such terms as the Secretary considers necessary to protect the investment of the Federal Government in such land. "(ii) The Secretary may subsequently sell any contract entered into to carry out clause (i). "(B) The Secretary shall offer such land for sale to operators of not larger than family-size farms at a price that reflects the aversige annual income that may be reasonably anticipated to be generated from farming such land. "(C) If two or more qualified operators of not larger than familysize farms desire to purchase, or lease with an option to purchase, such land, the appropriate county committee shall, by majority vote, select the operator who may purchase such land, on such basis as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation. "(5)(A) If the Secretary determines that farmland administered under this title is not suitable for sale or lease to an operator of not larger than a family-size farm because such farmland is in a tract or tracts that the Secretary determines to be larger than that necessary for family-size farms, the Secretary shall subdivide such land into tracts suitable for such operator. "(B) The Secretary shall dispose of such subdivided farmland in accordance with this subsection.

51-194 O -

QL. 3

Part 2

Prohibition,

Regulations,

Real property. Contracts. Small business.

Contracts,

Regulations,

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