The upcoming House Farm Bill will contain measures to restrict foreign entities like China from scooping up American farmland in a big win for national security, a Republican who helped secure the provisions told DailyMail.com.
Foreign entities own a total of 40 million acres of U.S. farmland and China has bought up nearly 347,000 acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Now lawmakers are working to further restrict China and other adversaries from snatching up coveted land in the fiscal year 2024 ‘Farm Bill.’
Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who represents a heavy agricultural district, says it’s critical to stop China in order to protect U.S. food supply chains and bolster national security.
‘Communist China shouldn’t be allowed to buy another acre of American farmland, nor should we rely upon our top foreign adversary for key parts of our food supply chain,’ Hinson exclusively told DailyMail.com.
Chinese entities own farmland in 29 out of the U.S.’s 50 states, totaling 347,000 acres
The Chinese land purchases near important U.S. military instillations have been a particular concern for lawmakers and government officials.
In 2022, for example, the China-based food producer, Fufeng Group, acquired 300 acres of land in Grand Forks, just 20 minutes down the road from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, where some of the nation’s most sensitive drone technology is based.
Air Force Major Jeremy Fox wrote a memo that year characterizing the move as being emblematic of Chinese efforts to install themselves close to sensitive US defense installations.
He argued that the Fufeng property is located at just the right location for the company to intercept communications coming from the Air Force base.
Now, lawmakers are moving to crack down on such instances using the Farm Bill.
One of the wins Hinson says will be in the bill are reforms to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).
Those improvements would help the government more easily track foreign entities’ purchases of U.S. agricultural land.
It will also now mandate minimum penalties on individuals who intentionally submit false AFIDA filings.
As highlighted by the January GAO report, previously the USDA tracked foreign agricultural land purchases using paper forms.
Now, the Farm Bill includes language to create an online submission form where the USDA can better track submissions.
The land the Fufeng Group purchased is 20 minutes, approximately 16 miles, from the Grand Forks Air Force Base
Chinese firms own 346,915 acres of American agricultural land as of December 2022
Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, touted reforms to the House Farm Bill that would further restrict foreign entities from purchasing U.S. farmland
The measure will also require the USDA to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to ensure timely data sharing of international land purchases.