A Deep Dive Into Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land
By Scout Mauch
There has been a great deal of controversy about foreign ownership and investment in US Agricultural Land over the last few years, stirring up fears of foreign control of the very land that feeds us. But what are the real figures? In which states is it most prevalent and what is the status of foreign ownership restrictions in each state? Here we take a deep dive into the real numbers to provide some context.
How much US ag land is currently foreign owned?
According to the 2022 AFIDA Annual Report, as of December 31, 2022, foreign persons reported holding an interest in over 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. This accounts for 3.4% of all privately held U.S. agricultural land and nearly 2% of all land within the U.S.
What is AFIDA?
In 1978, congress enacted the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) to establish a nationwide system for the collection of information pertaining to foreign ownership in U.S. agricultural land (The National Agricultural Law Center). Under AFIDA, foreign individuals or entities acquiring or transferring any interest in agricultural land are required to disclose their holdings to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). AFIDA defines agricultural land as land totaling more than 10 acres in the aggregate that is used for forestry production or land currently used, or used within the past 5 years, for farming, ranching, or timber production. 1-AFIDA. AFIDA defines a “foreign person” as (A) any individual— (i) who is not a citizen or national of the United States; (ii) who is not a citizen of the Northern Mariana Islands or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; or (iii) who is not lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, or paroled into the United States, under the Immigration and Nationality Act etc. (7 USC § 3508(3)).
What are the statistics in the past years?
From 2012-2017, the number of agricultural acres held by foreign investors increased a relatively small 2.99 million acres, or from 2.0% of agricultural land to 2.3%. 2018 - 2022 has seen the rate of increase accelerate, increasing by 11.59 million acres, or from 2.5% of agricultural land to 3.5%. Keep in mind these figures include forestland, pastureland and cropland.
From what Country do Agricultural Land investors originate?
There are foreign investors from over 100 different countries that have an interest in U.S. land. Canadian investors own the largest amount of agricultural and non-agricultural acreage in the U.S. at 14.2 million acres, which represents 32% of all foreign-owned land. Investors from the Netherlands own 12%, Italy and the United Kingdom are at 6% each, and Germany with 5%. Investors from the 95+ other countries are each less than 5% but in aggregate represent 39% of all agricultural land.
What About China?
The most recent AFIDA data reports that China owns 346,915 acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land, which is slightly less than 1% of all foreign-owned acres, of which 335,636 are agricultural acres within the U.S.
What state has the highest agricultural acreage of foreign ownership?
Across all types of agricultural acres, which includes forestland, pastureland and cropland, Texas has the highest number of foreign-held agricultural acres at 5,435,906 acres. Maine is the second highest with 3,489,957 acres, Colorado (2,472,879 acres), Alabama (2,327,123 acres), Michigan (1,848,191 acres), and Oklahoma (1,790,128 acres).
What is the most abundant type of foreign-held agricultural land?
AFIDA categorized agricultural land by 5 different types: cropland, pasture, forest, other ag, and non ag. Of these five, nearly half of foreign landholdings are forest land at 49% (21,425,518 acres). Cropland is 28% (12,548,790 acres), pasture is 17% (7,533,774 acres), other ag is 4% (1,910,058), and non ag is 2% (908,940).
How are these types distributed across the States?
The highest concentration of foreign held Cropland acres is mainly in a belt in the south-central part of the High Plains from Texas to Nebraska, with Illinois having the highest concentration in the corn belt.
Unsurprisingly, the highest concentrations of foreign held acres in Forestland are in the commercial forestry heavy southern states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, the Pacific Northwestern states of Washington and Oregon, as well as the forestry heavy states of Michigan and Maine.
How many states have foreign ownership laws?
No state has an absolute prohibition on foreign ownership, but approximately twenty-four states have laws that seek to restrict or prohibit foreign ownership or investments in private agricultural land within the boundaries of their state to some degree.
Which states have foreign ownership laws?
Currently, states that have a law prohibiting or restricting foreign ownership and investments in private farmland include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
What states have recently enacted / proposed laws?
According to the National Ag Law Center, from 2021 through 2022, twelve states have proposed laws that seeks to restrict certain foreign investments in real property and agricultural land within their state boundaries.
Alabama (SB 14)
Introduced 1/11/2022
Died in committee.
Arizona (SB 1342)
Introduced on 1/25/2022
Died in committee.
Arkansas (SB 312) (original version)
Introduced 2/10/2021
Enacted 4/30/2021
California (SB 1084)
Introduced 2/15/2022
Vetoed by Governor on 9/27/2022
Indiana (SB 388)
Introduced in late January
Enacted 3/18/2022
Introduced HF 2311 on 2/9/2022
Died in chamber, renumbered as HF 2467
Introduced HF 2467 on 2/18/2022
Died in chamber, placed on calendar H.J. 299
Mississippi (HB 1)
Introduced during the 2022 1st Special Session in November
Enacted 11/17/2022
Missouri (HB 506; HB 1136; HB 1296; HB 1947; SB 243; SB 791)
Introduced HB 506 on 12/14/2020
Died on 2/2/2021
Introduced HB 1136 on 2/11/2021
Died in chamber
Introduced HB 1296 on 2/24/2021
Died in chamber
Introduced SB 243 on 1/6/2021
Died in committee
Introduced SB 791 on 1/5/2022
died in committee
Introduced HB1497 on 3/10/2021
50% progression, Coauthored by Senator Pemberton 4/15/2021
Introduced SB1496 on 2/7/2022
25% progression, died in committee
Introduced SB1534 on 2/7/2022
25% progression, died in committee
Introduced SJR 45 on 2/7/2022
No further update
South Carolina (H 4845)
Introduced 1/20/2022
25% progression, died in committee
Introduced SB 1070 on 2/10/2021
25% progression, died in chamber
Introduced HB 1451 on 2/23/2021
25% progression, died in chamber
While the amount of foreign owned agriculture is increasing, it is at a rate and quantity that is lower than would be expected. Each state has their own unique foreign ownership requirements and understanding them is important. For more information on state laws, check out The National Agricultural Law Center’s state compilations.