WASHINGTON, DC, US — Two US senators introduced legislation that would increase reporting and transparency while also strengthening oversight over purchases of US agriculture land by foreign entities.

Senators Joni Ernst and Debbie Stabenow introduced the Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense (FARMLAND) Act in mid-June. It would amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978.

“Food security is national security,” Ernst said. “China, our nation’s No. 1 pacing threat, is buying the farm and encroaching on land surrounding military bases. America needs to know how our foreign adversary has been allowed to use loopholes to attempt to exploit any potential vulnerability and assert control over our agriculture industry. I’m taking decisive action today to overhaul the system that has allowed this national security threat and work to combat our foreign adversaries, especially the Chinese Communist Party’s malign actions in our own backyard.”

Last year, controversy erupted over purchase of land in North Dakota for construction of a corn milling plant by a subsidiary owned by a Chinese-based company. The land was within 12 miles of the Grand Forks Air Base.

Lawmakers and the US Air Force questioned the security of having a foreign-based operation within close proximity of a military base. This February, the local city council voted not to proceed with the project.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), foreign ownership and investment in US agricultural land has nearly doubled over the last decade.

“Foreign ownership of farmland is an issue I hear about regularly as I visit with Iowans on my annual 99 county visits,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “I share Iowans’ serious concerns about our productive land ending up in the hands of those who are not our allies. While we already have a strong state law that prohibits foreign ownership of ag land, our entire federal Iowa delegation has been engaged on this issue and understands the importance of protecting farm ground and our national security. I am hopeful that Senator Ernst’s bi-partisan bill with Chairwoman Stabenow can become the basis for a much tougher federal law.”

The Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense (FARMLAND) Act will amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of 1978, which was established to develop a nationwide system for collecting information on foreign ownership of US agricultural land.

Specifically, the FARMLAND Act would:

  • Update the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) to better consider agriculture needs when making determinations affecting national security.
  • Review the purchase or lease by a foreign entity that exceeds $5 million or 320 acres over the last three years.
  • Give Congress more oversight on the national security risks of foreign purchase and management of US agricultural land.
  • Establish greater USDA involvement in reviewing acquisition of land by including the Secretary of Agriculture and Commissioner of the Food and Drugs on CFIUS.
  • Bolster USDA’s oversight and investigative actions by strengthening staff.
  • Develop a publicly available database of agricultural land owned by foreign persons and creating an audit.
  • Prohibit participation for foreign-owned or operated land in Farm Service Agency programs.
  • Require CFIUS to consider retroactive divestment of real estate owned by foreign entities.