NALC’s Pittman Discusses Foreign Investments In U.S. Land On C-SPAN
DREW VIGUET
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS
National Agricultural Law Center Director Harrison Pittman appeared on C-SPAN to discuss one of the most active legal issues in the U.S., both at the state and federal levels – foreign ownership of U.S. land.
Pittman was interviewed by Greta Brawner during a live segment on Washington Journal, where he provided insight into foreign investments in U.S. land and fielded call-in questions from viewers across the country.
The interview comes after the Trump administration unveiled new efforts to curb foreign investment in U.S. farmland. On July 9, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the National Farm Security Action Plan, which outlines new reforms aimed at blocking foreign adversaries – particularly China – from acquiring or retaining U.S. farmland.
During the interview, Pittman cited foreign ownership information from the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, or AFIDA, noting that approximately 3.5 percent of U.S. land is foreign-owned.
“That’s spread over more than about 100 countries, but about five countries make up about two-thirds of all foreign investment,” he said. “And the No. 1 investor in U.S. agriculture is Canada, and they always have been since we started keeping data in the late 1970s, early 1980s. They’re about one third.”
Following Canada is the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany, according to the USDA Farm Service Agency, who administers AFIDA.
“Roughly half of foreign-owned agricultural land is in the forestry industry, and that’s been a trend that’s been true since we’ve started keeping the data,” Pittman said. “It’s usually about 50 percent in forestry, about 25 percent in cropland, and about 25 percent in pastureland.”
Pittman pointed out that the data includes long-term leases.
“Long-term leases are defined as leases of 10 years or more,” he said. “You have some land that is reported as foreign-owned; it actually can be owned by a U.S. landowner – an American citizen. But it may have a solar lease, it may have a development right of some kind that has a foreign component in it.”
Pittman also noted that there are some U.S.-owned companies that, under AFIDA, are required to report as foreign investors.
“So, there is some nuance with those numbers,” said Pittman.
The National Farm Security Action Plan includes reforms to AFIDA, higher penalties for noncompliance, and efforts to coordinate with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The plan also signals potential legal efforts from the Trump administration to reclaim previously acquired farmland by Chinese-owned firms, such as Smithfield Foods and Syngenta.
Pittman mentioned the concern from the agricultural community about theft of agricultural data from countries such as China.
“A lot of these laws that are being proposed and enacted revolve around the concern over theft of agricultural data by foreign actors, specifically including China. It’s a prevalent topic in these debates in state legislatures across the country,” Pittman said.
The full C-SPAN interview with Pittman is available online.
The NALC maintains the Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land: FAQs and Resource Library, which can be accessed at nationalaglawcenter.org/foreign-investments-in-ag.
The NALC also regularly features updates on foreign investments in U.S. land in its twice monthly newsletter The Feed, which highlights recent updates in ag law and policy. Past issues are available at nationalaglawcenter.org/category/the-feed.
For information about the NALC, visit nationalaglawcenter.org. The NALC is also on X, Facebook and LinkedIn. ∆
DREW VIGUET
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS