Joco Today

Washington, D.C. – A group of senators led by U.S. Senator Roger Marshall has introduced a bill aimed at collecting more information about foreign ownership of agricultural land in the United States. The bipartisan legislation comes in response to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which highlighted the need for better efforts to track and share key information on foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land.

"If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. USDA hasn't done a good enough job of measuring foreign farmland ownership and certainly appears to be incapable of managing this issue that's top of mind for farmers and consumers alike," said Senator Marshall. "This bipartisan legislation forces transparency and accountability from the USDA by requiring them to collect, track, and share key information on foreign investments. Food security is national security; adversarial nations' uptick in foreign land ownership presents unique threats to our food supply. We must get a better handle on these investments."

The bill has garnered support from Senators Mike Braun, Jon Tester, Joni Ernst, Sherrod Brown, John Fetterman, Marco Rubio, Tammy Baldwin, Bill Hagerty, and Eric Schmitt. Senator Braun emphasized the importance of improving the USDA's system for collecting information on purchases of farmland by foreign nationals. He stated, "Many Americans are worried about adversarial foreign countries buying up American farmland and jeopardizing our food supply chain. This bipartisan bill will improve the USDA's system for collecting information on purchases of farmland by foreign nationals and better identify transactions that should have been reported but weren't."

Under the current Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of 1978, foreign persons who acquire, dispose of, or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land are required to disclose those transactions to the USDA. However, the recent GAO report revealed that the USDA's process for complying with AFIDA is inadequate in combating nefarious foreign ownership of American agricultural land by foreign adversaries.

According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), foreign investors currently own approximately 40.8 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. The report also highlights a significant increase in foreign ownership since 2017, with an annual average of 2.9 million acres being acquired. Notably, Chinese entities or individuals have seen a substantial rise in their ownership of U.S. agricultural land, increasing from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 383,935 acres in 2021.

The AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024, introduced by the senators, aims to address the shortcomings identified in the GAO report. The proposed legislation includes several key actions to improve the USDA's processes:

1) Streamline CFIUS Data Sharing: The bill will require the USDA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to govern data sharing between the two entities.

2) Modernize the AFIDA Handbook: The USDA will be directed to update its handbook for officials to collect AFIDA data, ensuring it is up to date and relevant.

3) Implement Current Law: The bill will require the USDA to develop and report to Congress a timeline for implementing an online AFIDA submission system and public database. The GAO report found that the USDA has not developed timelines for these crucial components.

4) Improve Data Verification and Monitoring: The USDA will be empowered to take necessary actions to validate foreign ownership data collected under AFIDA.

5) Identify Suspected Non-Filers: The USDA will be directed to leverage Farm Service Agency data to identify individuals who have illegally failed to file transactions with foreign persons under AFIDA.

6) Collect Data from Every Foreign Investor: The bill will require reporting for foreign persons with a minority stake in an agricultural land asset, including through ownership tiers or shell companies.

The introduction of this bill underscores the concern over foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land and its potential implications for national food security. By enhancing efforts to collect, track, and share key information, the proposed legislation aims to better identify national security risks associated with foreign investments in American farmland.