Lawmakers are calling for stricter regulations in the 2024 Farm Bill to address concerns about Chinese investment in U.S. agriculture, particularly purchases near military bases.
This includes annual assessments by the Secretary of Agriculture to evaluate China’s impact on American farming. Recent incidents, like a Chinese-backed project near a military base in North Dakota, have intensified worries about foreign land acquisition. Even though Chinese-owned land is less than 1 percent of all foreign-owned agricultural land, lawmakers say they want to protect American interests.
According to the National Ag Law Center, a majority of states now have at least one piece of proposed or enacted legislation restricting foreign investments and landholdings on farmland.
