One Republican’s plan to save America’s farmland from foreign investors
Christopher Tremoglie
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International entities currently “hold an interest in 40.8 million acres of U.S. agricultural land,” the United States Department of Agriculture reported. It is a startling figure that is widely unknown and regularly gets ignored, and it’s information to which Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) brought awareness with a press release this week. It’s also a phenomenon that Rosendale wants to halt. He introduced the Land and National Defense, or LAND, Act this week to “protect American farmland from foreign adversaries and land near our military bases,” a press release read.
It’s a harrowing thought that so much of the country’s farming land doesn’t belong to people in the country. It’s a sad reflection of the current era in which America is not for Americans anymore. Foreign investments obviously should not be ignored. However, engaging in such transactions with countries that are hostile to the United States seems quite odd. Logic would dictate this is a bad idea. Presently, federal law “imposes no restrictions on the amount of private U.S. agricultural land that can be owned by foreigners,” Rosendale’s office emphasized.
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“We already know that foreign individuals or entities have purchased over 41 million acres of agricultural land … and whether that was done for nefarious purposes to try and spy on us, or just getting control over our agriculture production, either way it’s a really bad idea,” Rosendale said in a previous statement.
Rosendale’s LAND Act would change that. His bill would restrict countries that are hostile to the U.S. from purchasing farmland in the country. This would include implementing the “same restrictions and limitations Americans are subject to when buying agricultural land in other countries to foreign purchasers of U.S. agricultural land.” Again, this seems pretty logical and common sense. There should be very little reason to object to such a proposal.
Furthermore, Rosendale’s bill would require any non-American resident who claims citizenship from more than one country to be “subject to the laws of the more restrictive country in which they have citizenship,” a press release read. Additionally, foreign companies interested in buying U.S. farming land would be “subject to the most restrictive law, where investors in the company who own more than 5% of the company are citizens.”
Perhaps the most intriguing part about Rosendale’s bill is the proposed creation of a task force that would track the farming land purchases by foreign entities. An integral part of the task force’s responsibilities would be to report whether “any of the purchased agricultural land is located within 100 miles of a military installation.”
“It is unacceptable for our adversaries to continue threatening our national security by purchasing American farmland to spy on us and gain control over our agriculture production,” Rosendale said. “I am proud to introduce this legislation so we can protect our farmers and put America first!”
There is little to dislike about Rosendale’s bill. It protects the country’s agricultural lands and farming interests. This is a good thing, and Rosendale should be applauded for such efforts. The LAND Act is a step in the right direction.