Our nation has about 900 million acres of farmland. By law, foreign persons holding agricultural land are required to report it to the government. By 2022, foreign investors owned 3% - or nearly 38 million acres - of farm, ranch, and forest land in the U.S. Most of this land is located in Texas, Maine, Oklahoma, Colorado, Alabama, and Missouri. About half of these foreign investors reside in Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and England. Chinese corporations have spent the last decade also buying American agribusiness companies. Chinese investors hold 352,140 acres of American farmland, or about 1% of total foreign ownership. Recent Chinese purchases include land in North Dakota near an Air Force base that is home to top-secret drone technology.

Critics claim foreign-owned farmland could pose a threat to national security, including the potential for a country such as China to gain control over our food production, pricing and supply chains. In 2022, China purchased the Smithfield Foods pork producer in Missouri, which during the pandemic, increased pork exports to China even as the United States experienced widespread meat shortages due to supply chain disruptions. Furthermore, some of the largest groups of foreign investors are renewable energy companies, prompting concerns that farmland is being removed from agricultural production. Some states have laws limiting foreign countries from buying American farmland, but no state prohibits foreign investment outright.

Pending Legislation: Reintroduction of S.903 - Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act or PASS Act
Sponsor: Sen. Mike Rounds (SD)
Status: Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Chair: Sen. Tim Scott (SC)

• I oppose reforming current foreign-owned farm policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Leader John Thune (SD).
• I support reviewing and prohibiting foreign purchases of U.S. agricultural land, especially near military bases or sensitive government sites, ensuring critical food security and defense by:
  
  1.) Updating the Defense Production Act to include agriculture-related transactions in CFIUS's review process.
  
  2.) Empowering the President to block any transaction that would result in a "covered foreign person" (specifically from China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea) gaining control or ownership of U.S. agricultural land or businesses.
  
  3.) Protect U.S. food security and national defense by preventing foreign control over critical agricultural assets.
  
  And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Sen. Tim Scott (SC) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.