Iowa 4th District Representative Randy Feenstra says the government needs to better track foreign ownership of American farmland and companies as part of its national security initiatives. According to Feenstra, recent trends show increased interest from overseas investors in U.S. assets. Federal law does not prohibit foreign ownership of U.S. land, but Feenstra says we should know more about where foreign nations and citizens invest domestically.
According to a 2020 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services Agency (FSA), approximately 2.9 percent of all privately held agricultural land, or 37.6 million acres, is owned by foreign actors. From 2009 to 2015, foreign holdings climbed by about 800,000 per year. However, that trend shifted in 2015 and jumped to average growth of 2.2 million acres annually in the years since. Feenstra says that’s a worrying pattern.
According to the FSA’s data, approximately 550,000 acres of Iowa farmland, or 1.6 percent, was foreign held. State law prohibits foreign investment in agricultural land, but those who owned land before 1980 were allowed to maintain their existing ownership. Feenstra made his comments Tuesday afternoon during a stop in Carroll on his annual districtwide tour.
