House Pushes Back on Foreign Purchases of Farmland

The House of Representatives has passed the "Protecting U.S. Farmland from Foreign Adversaries Act," with a companion bill now introduced in the Senate by Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Braun of Indiana. This legislation aims to tighten the rules around foreign purchases of U.S. farmland, specifically targeting countries like China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.

One key provision would add the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment, ensuring the secretary has a say in any future transactions involving agricultural land, biotech, and related industries. The bill also grants authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to monitor and report foreign acquisitions of American farmland by individuals or entities from these adversarial nations.

Senator Braun noted that Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland has skyrocketed in the past decade, increasing more than 20 times over. He warned that without stricter controls, even more American soil could end up under the control of foreign adversaries. Fourteen additional senators have signed on to support this legislation, signaling growing concern over foreign influence in U.S. agriculture.