Foreign investment in U.S. farmland increasing; Chinese ownership has increased tenfold in less than a decade

Foreign investors acquired at least 1.6 million acres of U.S. farmland in 2016, the largest increase in more than a decade, according to a review of the most recent federal data. About 2.2 percent of U.S. farmland (1% of all U.S. land) is owned or long-term leased by foreign investors.

"The data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that foreign investors control – either through direct ownership or long-term leases – at least 28.3 million acres, valued at $52.2 billion. That area is about the size of the state of Ohio," Jonathan Hettinger reports for the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. Most of that farmland is owned by timber and renewable energy companies, but some of it is used for meat production or crops.

Missouri relaxed its ban on foreign farmland ownership in 2013 when a Chinese company bought Smithfield Foods. "That move allowed the company, now known as WH Group, to acquire more than 40,000 acres of Missouri farmland, according to federal data." That deal put Chinese-sponsored businesses in control of about 25% of the state's pork production, Allen Fennewald reports for the Fulton Sun.

Smithfield, the world's largest pork producer, owns about 150,000 acres in the U.S., and Chinese businesses overall own about 191,000 acres worth $1.9 billion. Though that isn't much in the grand scheme of things, Chinese investment in U.S. agriculture has grown tenfold in less than a decade, according to USDA data. "And in Ohio, one of the states where a ban on foreign-owned farmland is being considered, WH Group bought two grain elevators in 2016, allowing the company to skip the middleman in feeding Smithfield’s livestock," Hettinger reports.

Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota and Oklahoma ban foreign ownership of farmland, and a group called Family Farm Action is lobbying for bans in other states, Hettinger reports. Jake Davis, the group's policy director, told him, "This is about food security for [foreign investors], it needs to be about food security for us."

The five states estimated to have the most foreign-controlled land are:

1. Maine, 3.1 million acres
2. Texas, 3 million acres
3. Alabama, 1.6 million acres
4. Washington, 1.5 million acres
5. Michigan, 1.3 million acres

"In 2016, Luxembourg had the largest increase of any country in foreign investment at 262,000 acres – all forestland – valued at $599 million, while Italy was second at 257,000 acres – almost entirely cropland – valued at $300 million," Hettinger reports. "Overall, Canadian individuals and entities own the most land at 4.7 million acres, valued at $4.6 billion. Netherlands is a close second at 4.5 million acres, valued at $6 billion Those countries hold significant forestland investments. EDP Renewables, a Portuguese renewable energy company, and Enel Green Power, an Italian renewable energy company . . . both control significant swaths of farmland through long-term leases."