The 1996 Farm Bill marked a pivotal change in U.S. ag policy, eliminating acreage set-aside programs that had been in place since the 1930s.
The change ultimately gave U.S. farmers the freedom to decide which crops to plant or not to plant at their own operations.
Since then, land in U.S. farms has declined nearly 8%, totaling nearly 75 million acres. Data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture shows that pastureland made up the majority of those losses with 65.5 million acres lost since the late 90s.
Cropland and woodland saw losses of 5 million acres each.
The continuation of those trends may rest in the hands of this year’s harvest.
So far, this year the farmland market has been in a holding period but harvesting a new crop does tend to set a new tone in the market.
Production totals, grain markets, and interest rates can all play a role in influencing land prices. However, prices are not the only concern when it comes to U.S. ag land.
Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota has been a strong advocate for protecting the vital resource from foreign purchases.
According to Rep. Johnson, “Let’s be clear. China has not bought up a bunch of American farmland yet. They bought up some, but it’s relatively modest so far. I don’t want to be a fearmonger, but the reality is that over the last ten years, China has increased their holdings of farmland outside of China by 1,000%. It’s largely in the global south— think South America, think Africa— but we have had expert after expert show up before our committee, the select committee on China, and tell us that China has a plan to develop more control over the American food supply. We cannot sleepwalk through this threat. The best time to shut the barn door is before the cattle are out. That’s why I was so glad that we passed my bill, along with Dan Newhouse, that would actually make it much harder for the Chinese Communist Party to buy American farmland.”
That bill is the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act.
It would add the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee of Foreign Investment, making sure USDA plays a role in reviewing transactions from countries like China.
Congressman Johnson says that threat goes beyond China, with numerous countries considered to be U.S. adversaries looking to invest in U.S. ag land.
“All of us who are country mice had a granddad who told us that land is the one thing they’re not making any more of. And year, it’s not just China that has an interest in American farmland. The bills that I’ve been working on generally single out our adversaries, so North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China,” he explains. There are times when foreign investment can be great. I mean, if Toyota wants to build another car factory in Tennessee, if they want to hire 1,000 American welders and machinists that makes America stronger, but when the Chinese Communist Party or the North Koreans want to buy American farmland, we just need to say ‘no!’”
Nearly 3% of all U.S. ag land is foreign-owned. The largest share is owned by Canada.
