A USDA report indicates that foreign-owned agricultural land in the US slightly increased in 2022, with the largest increases in forestland across Alabama, Michigan, and parts of Colorado. However, some states saw declines in foreign agricultural land ownership, including Arkansas, Illinois, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont. Canada continued to own the most U.S. agricultural land, followed by the Netherlands. China owned less than 1% of U.S. farmland in 2022, and Chinese investor-owned acreage declined between 2021 and 2022. The report provides a clearer picture of foreign-owned agricultural land in the U.S., but the USDA needs improved data gathering as interest grows on the topic.
Farm Bureau members will consider foreign agricultural land ownership policy at their upcoming annual meeting, with a policy recommendation to support better funding and enforcement under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act to ensure farmers have a better understanding of the situation.
