Overview

• An internal investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the Biden administration is failing to track foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, potentially posing a national security risk.
• The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has not consistently shared timely data on foreign investments in farmland as required under the 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).
• Foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land grew to approximately 40 million acres in 2021, with a significant portion owned by Chinese entities.
• Lawmakers have raised concerns about foreign, particularly Chinese, ownership of American farmland, especially land that is near to U.S. military installations.
• The GAO has made several recommendations for the USDA to improve their reporting system, including establishing a more timely process to report foreign investments and updating the forms used to report the data.