Nebraska Panhandle News

U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska has introduced the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act, a bill aimed at updating the 1978 legislation to enhance oversight on foreign ownership of American agricultural land. The bill seeks to empower the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in addressing concerns over foreign adversaries owning such lands.

Senators Tommy Tuberville, John Fetterman, Roger Wicker, John Cornyn, and Katie Britt have co-sponsored the Senate legislation. Representative Don Bacon is spearheading a similar effort in the House.

“Agriculture is the heart and soul of Nebraska and of America,” said Ricketts. “American farmland should remain in the hands of American farmers and ranchers, not foreign adversaries. Food security is national security.”

Senator Tuberville expressed concerns about China's increasing purchase of American farmland, stating that food security equates to national security: “Over the past several decades, China has been buying up American farmland in an attempt to infiltrate our agriculture supply chains... I’m proud to join this legislation with Senator Ricketts to update our reporting requirements for foreign purchases of our farmland for the first time in nearly 50 years.”

Representative Bacon highlighted national security risks associated with such purchases: “Having actual processes in place will strengthen the security of our nation in the event nefarious foreign agents, such as the CCP, try to purchase agricultural lands within our nation.”

Senator Cornyn also noted existing threats: “Foreign entities purchasing American farmland opens the door to serious national security threats from countries like China that aim to undermine the United States... This legislation would enhance existing measures by strengthening enforcement and promoting data sharing so that we can more easily identify foreign adversaries purchasing U.S. farmland with malicious intent.”

The AFIDA Improvements Act aims to bolster current regulations under which foreign entities must disclose their transactions involving U.S. agricultural land holdings to USDA authorities.

According to USDA data, foreign investors own over 40 million acres across America. Between 2010 and 2021 alone, Chinese ownership expanded significantly from approximately 13,720 acres up to around 383,935 acres.