News

Foreign ownership of farmland up

USDA data shows foreign ownership of agricultural land is on the rise.  The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting dug into the details, and found foreign investors acquired more than 1.6 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in 2016, the most recent year with data available.  The report claims 2016 had the largest increase in more than a decade, and ag land ownership by Chinese entities grew tenfold in less than a decade.

States like Iowa and Minnesota have laws banning foreign ownership of farmland.  Missouri changed its foreign ownership ban to a limit of 1% in 2013 to allow a Chinese company to acquire Smithfield Foods and its 146-thousand acres.  Wisconsin has a 640-acre limit per foreign owner, which has been in place for more than 130 years.

The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting says the top five states with foreign ownership of land based on USDA data are Maine, Texas, Alabama, Washington, and Michigan.