Buying the farm: Pa. lawmakers concerned about foreign ownership of agricultural land – Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Farmland Raises Concerns About National Security and Food Security

When a Chinese food manufacturer bought 300 acres of farmland in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 2022 it set off a wave of concern among lawmakers, farmers, and other stakeholders, who called the operation, approximately 20 minutes from Grand Forks Air Force Base, a national security risk.

Since then, concern has continued to grow about the impact of foreign-owned farms and farmland across the United States, including in Pennsylvania. 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Emphasized:

1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Farmland: A National Security and Food Security Issue

At a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing last month, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) called foreign ownership of U.S. farmland a “national security issue” as well as a “food security issue.”

“I’m concerned with foreign countries’ and foreign corporations’ ownership in our agriculture supply chain,” Fetterman said. 

The freshman Senator isn’t the only one concerned. 

Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-15th District) said that foreign ownership and investment in U.S. agricultural land has “nearly doubled in the past decade.” 

The troubling trend prompted Thompson and Rep. James Comer (R-K.Y.) to send a letter to the Government Accountability Office in October 2022 requesting a full “review of foreign investment in U.S. farmland and its potential impact on national security, trade, and food security as well as U.S. government efforts to monitor these acquisitions.”

According to a 2020 U.S. Department of Agriculture report, foreign persons held nearly 37.6 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, totaling 2.9% of all privately held agricultural land and 1.7% of all land in the United States.

“This growing trend has elevated concerns regarding national security in a time of uncertainty that is already compounded by challenges to our supply chain infrastructure, high input costs for farmers, and geopolitical pressures,” Thompson, who chairs the House Committee on Agriculture, said. “It is critical for Congress to have a thorough understanding of foreign investment in our nation’s agricultural land.”

Foreign Farms in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is one of 14 states to have laws restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land and other nonagricultural real estate, according to a Congressional Research Service report in January. 

The issue of foreign investments in agricultural land has state lawmakers grateful that Pennsylvania has laws in place that limit non-residents and foreign governments from acquiring more than 100 acres of land. 

“I know some other states, who did not have a law similar to ours, have recently started to try to get something passed due to the increased concern of this type of stuff happening,” state Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver) told the Capital-Star. “I commend Pennsylvania’s congressional members who recognize the potential danger to the national security of our country and also the potential danger of foreign entities controlling our prime agricultural land. I hope the federal government takes a good long look at this issue.”

Vogel, who chairs the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, worries that foreign competition for agricultural land could price Pennsylvania farmers out of land purchases. 

“It’s hard enough for farmers and especially new farmers to purchase land here these days, it’s even harder when you have folks from other countries trying to buy land in the USA and drive the prices up on everyone,” Vogel said.

While the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture reports that the vast majority of Pennsylvania’s 52,700 farms are owned by family farmers rather than corporate interests, the department is also tasked with

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 15: Life on Land
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
• SDG 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
• SDG 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator for SDG 2.4: Percentage of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture.
• Indicator for SDG 15.3: Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area.
• Indicator for SDG 16.5: Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 months.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: penncapital-star.com

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