In recent years, sales of U.S. farmland to foreign investors have increased scrutiny on how those acres change hands. And with more than 30% of farmland expected to change hands in the next two decades, it makes sense that farmers are interested in who will take over.

Experts believe most will stay in families. A 2022 study from Iowa State University found only 4% of farmers surveyed intended to sell their land to non-family members rather than pass it on to the next generation or place it in a trust.

However, farmers aren’t the only ones interested in this land. Leadership at Peoples Co., a land broker, estimates about 70% of their sales are to farmers. The rest goes to various buyers, including foreign and domestic investors. Much of it is developed for housing. And while the change from farmland to suburban areas isn’t necessarily happening overnight, it is persistent. American Farmland Trust, a nonprofit focused on retaining that land for agricultural use, found that 11 million acres of farmland were lost to growing communities between 2001 and 2016.

Read more on predictions for American farmland ownership here.