Bill to Address Foreign Ownership of US Farmland

The law hasn’t been updated in years, and has too many loopholes that allow foreign entities to conceal their identities and hide the true extent of the problem, the bill sponsors said.

The AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024 would:

• Streamline CFIUS Data Sharing: Require USDA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to govern data sharing between USDA and CFIUS member agencies within one year of enactment.
• Modernize the AFIDA Handbook: Direct USDA to update the agency’s handbook for officials to collect AFIDA data within one year of enactment. This handbook was last updated in 2006.
• Implement Current Law: Require USDA to develop and report to Congress a timeline to meet specific implementation benchmarks for an online AFIDA submission system and public database. While Congress has required USDA to implement an online system by 2025, GAO discovered that USDA “has not developed timelines for creating an online submission process [or] a public database.”
• Improve Data Verification and Monitoring: Direct and empower USDA to take any such actions as are necessary to validate foreign ownership data collected under AFIDA.
• Identify Suspected Non-Filers: Direct USDA to better leverage Farm Service Agency data to identify individuals who have illegally not filed transactions with foreign persons under AFIDA.
• Collect Data from Every Foreign Investor: Require reporting for foreign persons with a minority stake in an agricultural land asset, including through ownership tiers or shell companies.

As we reported last week, while foreign ownership of U.S.agricultutal land has grown nearly 50% in the past six years, the increase is mostly due to foreign-owned wind companies obtaining long-term leases to build wind turbines on farmland and pastures.  Some foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land may raise national security concerns—especially when they are located near sensitive military locations. 

The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mike Braun (R-Ind), Jon Tester (D-Mont), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Roger Marshall (R-Kan), John Fetterman (D-Pa), Marco Rubio (R-Fla), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo).

In the House, the chief sponsors are Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb), Mark Alford (R-Mo), Michael Bost (R-Ill), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Brad Finstad (R-Minn), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif).