Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Curb Foreign Adversary Farmland Purchases

The U.S. Senate has voted overwhelmingly in favor of legislation prohibiting China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from purchasing U.S. farmland and agricultural businesses. The bill was centered around military spending, with language around farmland purchases built within, led by South Dakota Senator Mark Rounds.

The amendment would instruct the Committee on Foreign Investment, an interdepartmental panel led by the Treasury Department, to block such purchases. According to USDA, foreign countries own 40.8 million acres of U.S. farmland or 3.1% of all privately held land in the country. China owns 347,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land.

Read more on recent legislation to stop foreign adversary land purchases here.