The Agriculture Department is weighing updates to its foreign land reporting form with the aim of capturing more information on long-term leases and the impacts of foreign ownership on farmers.
USDA announced Friday that it is seeking comments on how to change its Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act forms to better track leases of more than 10 years. USDA says leaseholders — often wind and solar developers — are currently required to report the complete acreage of each parcel they rent since it is initially unclear initially how many turbines or panels they will erect.
“This process, which includes public input on changes to the form, will lead to more insightful reporting to Congress and the public," Farm Production and Conservation Under Secretary Robert Bonnie said in a statement.
AFIDA requires foreign investors to file a form with the Farm Service Agency in the county where land is purchased, detailing the number of acres acquired, the buyers' country of origin, the purchase price, and the intended use of the land.
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FSA is asking whether long-term leaseholders should file their own version of the FSA-153 form. Additionally, the agency is asking whether the definition of "estimated value of the land" should be updated for leases. It also proposes additional questions about the impacts foreign ownership has on farmers.
The effectiveness of the current reporting law and the USDA’s efforts to track purchases have been increasingly questioned by lawmakers in recent years. Congress passed language in last year’s appropriations bill requiring the agency to establish an online database containing AFIDA data and allowing it to accept disclosure submissions digitally. The USDA previously relied on a paper-based system, according to FSA administrator Zach Ducheneaux.
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