Feenstra Joins Letter to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack over USDA’s Lack of Oversight over Foreign Purchases of American Farmland
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) joined a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, led by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s serious lack of accountability and oversight over foreign purchases of American farmland.
In a USDA memo obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, it was revealed that the USDA failed to assess a single penalty on foreign entities who did not properly disclose their American farmland acquisitions, which is required under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA). Additionally, this lack of accountability was not included in USDA’s annual AFIDA report to Congress.
“American farmland belongs to American farmers – period,” said Rep. Feenstra. “I am extremely concerned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not accurately monitoring foreign purchases of American farmland, which is our most vital, yet finite resource in rural America. I am proud to join my colleagues in holding the Biden Administration accountable to Iowa farmers, producers, and our rural communities and preventing China and other foreign threats from buying up our farmland.”
In part, the lawmakers wrote, “Foreign ownership of agricultural land threatens small family farm operations and the overall health of the agricultural supply chain. As the foreign acquisitions of farmland increases, it is evident that more oversight is needed to protect local farmers, rural communities, and our national security.”
Feenstra is an original cosponsor of the Agriculture Foreign Investment Transparency Act, also led by Stefanik, which amends AFIDA to actively monitor foreign purchases of American farmland and promote transparency in land acquisitions by foreign entities.
More specifically, this legislation requires the Secretary of Agriculture to create a section on USDA’s website to publicly post all AFIDA reports.
You can find a copy of the full letter HERE.
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