Iowa 4th District Representative Randy Feenstra is pushing legislation that would increase the federal government’s monitoring of foreign investment in American farmland. Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services Agency passively tracks foreign ownership of agricultural land, and Feenstra says the numbers are startling. Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
The USDA has tracked foreign purchases since 1978, when Congress passed the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA). Low-scale foreign investment is typical, but recent trends show purchases are increasing. Feenstra says the government needs to better monitor foreign actors looking to buy up farmland.
Earlier this month, Feenstra, along with Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Rick Crawford of Arkansas, introduced the Agriculture Foreign Investment Transparency Act in the U.S. House. The bill strengthens the original AFIDA by actively monitoring foreign land acquisitions and requires USDA to publish AFIDA reports on its website. Recently, Iowa State University released a report showing farmland prices in the state have reached record highs, often leaving newcomers to agriculture unable to start. Feenstra says the 4th District must continue producing farmers.
No action has been taken on the bill in the current Congress, and it is unlikely to move before the end of the year. However, Feenstra says this will be a key issue for him when Republicans officially take the majority in the 118th Congress next month.