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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, August 25, 2024
A bill aimed at preventing foreign governments and "state-controlled" businesses from purchasing agricultural land is nearing passage in North Dakota's state legislature.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told members of a House Appropriations subcommittee Monday that he has hired more staff to track foreign farmland purchases after a three-year gap in his department’s application of disclosure penalties.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sparred with House Republicans over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in what could be an opening skirmish in a battle over potential program cuts as Congress considers a new farm bill.
Concerns about China and other countries purchasing U.S. farmland are a hot topic for lawmakers and their constituents and may be the topic of a future farm bill hearing.
A special committee on China created in the Republican-controlled House will spend part of its time investigating Chinese investments in U.S. agriculture and the risk they could pose for food security.
New legislation from a bipartisan pair of Senate Ag Committee members adds an additional wrinkle to the conversation about foreign purchases of U.S. farmland.
The Agriculture Department’s tracking of foreign land ownership relies heavily on investors to voluntarily report acquisitions, but enforcement cases have dropped dramatically even as the number of transactions has surged over the past decade, according to an analysis of USDA data.
The House Appropriations Committee advanced a $27.2 billion spending bill for the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration that would provide significant new funding for conservation technical assistance, rural broadband and food safety.
China’s push to achieve self-sufficiency, which has incentivized the nation to purchase, and even steal, agricultural assets in other countries, could present risks to the economic and national security of the United States, warns a report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Foreign holdings of U.S. land increased by 2.4 million acres in 2020, with 40% of the growth occurring in just three states, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, according to a new Agriculture Department report. But these holdings are still a relatively small share of U.S. farmland.