; (B) make any adjustments considered necessary by the Secretary to— (i) increase the number of third-party providers delivering technical assistance; and (ii) improve the quality of technical assistance delivered by third-party providers; (C) conduct outreach to, and receive input on the barriers for third-party providers to become certified under this section from— (i) third-party providers that are, or have been, certified under this section; and (ii) other interested parties associated with eligible participants; and (D) set a target rate of utilization of third-party providers to deliver technical assistance across all conservation programs administered by the Secretary. ; (4) in paragraph (4)(A)(i), by inserting (including maintenance) after implementation ; (5) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following: (5) Payment amount (A) In general For payments provided by the Secretary under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (c), the Secretary shall determine payment amounts for technical assistance provided by third-party providers, which shall be at rates equivalent to, but that do not exceed, the cost to the Secretary of providing technical assistance directly to an eligible participant. (B) Considerations In determining payment amounts under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider specialized equipment, frequency of site visits, training, travel and transportation, and such other factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. (C) Exclusion A payment provided under subsection (c)(3) shall be excluded from calculations relating to any cost-sharing requirements of the applicable conservation program under which the payment was provided. (6) Transparency Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 , and periodically thereafter, the Secretary shall make publicly available information on— (A) funds obligated to third-party providers through— (i) contracts entered into between eligible participants and individual third-party providers