House Bill Seeks More Insight on Foreign Ownership of US Farmland
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., introduced a bill July 14 aimed at improving the tracking of foreign purchases of U.S. farmland.
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The legislation would require USDA to increase its information sharing with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. It also would direct USDA to update the handbook for the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA), which requires foreign buyers of U.S. farmland to report their transactions to USDA.
In addition, USDA would need to develop a timeline to set up an online AFIDA submission system. The bill also would require AFIDA reporting for foreign persons holding at least a 1% interest in U.S. agricultural land.
The AFIDA Improvements Act, which has nine co-sponsors and was referred to the House Agriculture Committee, is intended to codify recommendations the Government Accountability Office issued in January 2024 (see 2401190069). It's a companion to a bill that Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., introduced in June.