News

Farm Bureau wants Show-Me farmland owned domestically

The Missouri Farm Bureau wants the Missouri Legislature to cap foreign ownership of farmland at its current level. Since the 1970s state law in Missouri has prohibited foreign entities from owning any farmland in the state, but a bill was passed last year allowing foreign ownership of up to one percent of the state’s farmland. Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst tells Brownfield that’s too high.

“We oppose any foreign ownership of farmland in the state and so we would like to roll back that one percent to the current foreign ownership; no more,” said Hurst, in an interview with Brownfield Ag News Monday.

Republican Representative Casey Guernsey handled the House version of the bill last year providing for the one percent foreign ownership. Guernsey tells Brownfield the outright prohibition dating back to the ‘70s was ineffective.

“What the language did last year was actually put in place a requirement that there be more or less, permission granted by the administration for any farmland to be transferred to a foreign interest,” Casey told Brownfield Ag News.

The one percent limit puts in place an enforcement mechanism, said Guernsey, adding that he supports anything that strengthens the prohibition of foreign ownership of farmland.

Some of Missouri’s farmland is already in foreign hands. The Farm Bureau’s Hurst says it’s an amount under the legislated one percent cap.

“We don’t like that fact, but it is what it is,” said Hurst. “We’re not asking that that be overturned or changed, but we want it stopped right where it is today.”

Farm Bureau has longstanding policy adopted by members supporting the state’s prohibition on foreign ownership of Missouri farmland.

AUDIO: Blake Hurst (2 min. MP3)

AUDIO: Rep. Casey Guernsey (11 min. MP3)