USDA Seeking Comments on Foreign Farmland Reporting Standards
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking public input on potential changes to how foreign ownership of agricultural land is reported, including possible reforms that could require Congressional action.
The changes would strengthen the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).
“USDA seeks input on regulatory or other changes that may improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its AFIDA reporting and filing requirements,” the department said in a rulemaking notice.
AFIDA requires foreign investors who acquire, transfer or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land to report such holdings and transactions to USDA. The agency’s National Farm Security Action Plancalls for implementation of reforms to the AFIDA process, including improved verification and monitoring of collected AFIDA data.
USDA is requesting comments on topics including the interests in agricultural land covered under AFIDA, identification of required filers and the information included on the filed report. USDA noted it is open to changes that could be implemented under existing law, as well as revisions that would require new or updated statutory authority.
“Strengthening national security starts with knowing who owns our farmland and where federal dollars are flowing,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said. “These actions close long-standing gaps in oversight and enforcement by improving transparency around foreign land ownership and ensuring USDA programs support American farmers and manufacturers, while prioritizing domestic supply chains—not foreign adversaries.”
USDA is also seeking feedback on whether foreign persons from countries designated as foreign adversaries should be subject to different reporting requirements than other foreign investors.
Comments on how to obtain accurate, verifiable descriptions or geospatial maps of agricultural land that can be used across multiple agencies and audiences are also requested by the agency.
“USDA’s policy goal is to obtain valuable, comprehensive and verifiable information about interests in U.S. agricultural land held by foreign persons,” the notice stated. “USDA is further interested in streamlining and strengthening AFIDA regulations to improve process efficiency, address national security interests and provide timely, accurate and detailed data for CFIUS agencies’ use.”
According to USDA, foreign acquisitions of U.S. agricultural land increased from about 600,000 acres annually between 2013 and 2017 to an average of 2.6 million acres per year from 2017 through 2023.
