A recent map has exposed the alarming trend of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) acquiring large swaths of US farmland, raising serious national security concerns.
Foreign ownership of U.S. farmland increased to about 43.4 million acres in 2022, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
According to the USDA, Chinese investors' ownership of US farmland has skyrocketed from just 13,720 hectares in 2010 to an astonishing 346,915 hectares in 2022 out of 43 million hectares.
Chinese entities own agricultural land in 29 of the 50 US states.
According to data reviewed by The Gateway Pundit, Canadian investors own the largest share of foreign-owned agricultural and non-agricultural land in the US, at 32 percent or 14.2 million hectares.
In addition, investors from four other countries – the Netherlands (12 percent), Italy (6 percent), the United Kingdom (6 percent) and Germany (5 percent) – together own another 13 million hectares, accounting for 29 percent of all foreign investments. owned land in the US
The remaining 38 percent, or 17.1 million hectares, is owned by several other countries. For example, China owns 346,915 hectares, which amounts to just under 1 percent of foreign hectares.
Despite Chinese entities owning less than 1 percent of foreign farmland in the U.S., the topic has received a lot of attention.
According to USDA:
Chinese lead investors reported owning 346,915 hectares of agricultural land as of December 31, 2022.
Two Chinese-owned companies – Brazos Highland Properties, LP and Murphy Brown LLC (Smithfield Foods) – reported 102,345 acres and 97,975 acres respectively, and were by far the largest Chinese reporters.
Other top Chinese-owned reporters were Missouri's Murphy Brown (Smithfield Foods) (42,716 acres); Harvest Texas, LLC (29,705 acres); and Walton International Group (USA), Inc. (29,437 acres) (Report 10).
These five companies accounted for 87 percent of all reported Chinese holdings. There were no applications directly from the Chinese government. Chinese investments in U.S. farmland are spread across the country (Figure 4).
The states with the largest Chinese holdings are Texas (159,640 acres); North Carolina (44,776 acres); Missouri (43,071 acres); Utah (32,447 acres); and Virginia (14,382 acres) (Report 11).
Together, these five states had 85 percent of Chinese declarations related to U.S. farmland. Particularly in Texas, long-term leases associated with wind energy investments predominate, while land ownership is more common in other states.
Chinese entities acquiring agricultural land in close proximity to critical U.S. military installations have raised growing concerns, posing potential national security risks.
An alarming example involves a Chinese company, Fufeng USA, acquiring 365 hectares of agricultural land near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.
The site's location near a U.S. Air Force base that houses sensitive drone technology has lawmakers on Capitol Hill concerned about possible spying by Beijing.
The Fufeng Group also purchased a corn mill near Grand Forks. Local citizens are rightly concerned about this new project in their backyard.
A 2022 CNN report also found that China has placed Huawei equipment atop cell towers on purchased agricultural land near U.S. military bases in the Midwest that could disrupt service and pick up signals.
“One of the most alarming things the FBI has discovered involves Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop cell towers near U.S. military bases in the rural Midwest. According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the FBI determined that the equipment was capable of capturing and disrupting very limited Defense Department communications, including those used by the U.S. Strategic Command, which conducts surveillance stops the country's nuclear weapons.
The Gateway Pundit reported that starting in 2015, a Chinese real estate development company called China Oceanwide Holdings began buying land on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands, just ten miles west of the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor.
The stated intent of the land purchases was to build a luxury hotel and homes, but nothing was ever built, even though China Oceanwide had amassed land worth more than $500 million near Pearl Harbor.
An increasing number of states are taking action or have already passed legislation to ban “foreign adversaries” and foreign entities – most notably China – from purchasing agricultural land.
As of 2024, several U.S. states have passed or are in the process of enacting laws restricting or banning foreign ownership of land. These states have primarily targeted countries seen as threats to national security.
Here is a list of 24 states with such restrictions, according to Mother Jones.
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
These states have implemented various laws, ranging from a complete ban on foreign ownership of agricultural land to restrictions based on national security concerns regarding specific countries, such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. The motivation behind these laws includes protecting food safety, preventing espionage, and protecting critical infrastructure.
Congress is also advancing legislation aimed at addressing the issue at the federal level.
“Communist China should not buy another acre of American farmland, nor should we depend on our main foreign adversary for key parts of our food supply chain. Food security is national security!” Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) wrote on X.
Communist China should not be allowed to buy another acre of American farmland, nor should we be dependent on our main foreign adversary for key parts of our food supply chain.
Food security is national security!https://t.co/aduwyjP0SD
— Ashley Hinson (@RepAshleyHinson) May 29, 2024
Hinson has introduced an amendment to the 2024 Farm Bill within the House Agriculture Committee, which aims to limit foreign acquisitions of U.S. farmland. She argues that such measures are critical to securing America's food security Daily email reported.
In February 2023, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the “Agricultural Land Prohibition Law for the People's Republic of China”, which would ban the purchase of public or private agricultural land in the US by foreigners associated with the CCP.
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a threat to American democracy. The United States is in a major power struggle with the CCP, and we must respond with tough policies that will protect our farmland and food supply chain. said Representative Newhouse.
“We must take every action possible to strengthen our domestic production while preventing our country's strongest adversaries from having an advantage over our supply chain. I am proud to introduce this legislation along with many of my colleagues in the House of Representatives to prevent the CCP from gaining a foothold within our own borders.”
