Is China really buying up U.S. farmland? Here’s what we found

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land in the US

After CNBC wrote that the purchases by Fufeng USA were raising alarms in Washington, a local USDA official contacted the company to ask about disclosure of foreign ownership, according to USDA filings reviewed by NBC News.

Two weeks later the company complied, filing disclosures showing it had made three purchases for a total of $9.5 million to build a “wet corn milling biofermentation plant.”

“I can’t imagine anyone that we hire that’s going to even do that,” Chutorash said. When asked if he could definitively say it wouldn’t be used for espionage, he responded, “Absolutely.”

But due to the opposition of local, state and federal officials, development of the Fufeng plant was stopped. Fufeng still owns more than 300 acres in Grand Forks, according to the county recorder’s office, a footprint less than a quarter the size of the average family farm in North Dakota.

Weak enforcement

Historically only about 3.1%, or 40 million acres, of the nation’s 1.3 billion acres of agricultural land has been owned by foreigners. Almost half of the foreign-owned land is forest. USDA records show that a third of the 40 million foreign-owned acres are held by Canadian interests, while Chinese interests hold less than 400,000 acres.

But the share of agricultural land owned by foreign interests is increasing, according to the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, and the pace at which the foreign share is growing has also risen. While it grew by an average of 800,000 acres yearly from 2011 to 2015, it rose 2.2 million acres per year from 2015 to 2021.

In the name of national security, members of Congress have called for tougher laws to regulate foreign land purchases, criticizing existing efforts by the USDA to police disclosure.

Over the past 10 years just six companies have faced penalties for late filings or failing to file, according to USDA data.

Two Canadian firms were penalized for late filings in 2013. A Swedish company was fined a year later. After that there were no penalties until a Japanese firm was fined in 2019.

In 2021 two Chinese entities were together fined more than $135,000 for failing to disclose their purchases of more than 130,000 acres along the southern U.S. border in Texas more than 20 years earlier.

The penalty letter that the USDA sent to one of the firms, Brazos Highland Properties LP, shows that the company filed its disclosure 8,017 days late. The government said in its letter that given the long delay the original amount of the proposed fine had been $21 million, but that the agency decided to reduce it to $120,216.38. That sharply reduced amount was the largest fine the agency had imposed in 20 years.

The two companies, Harvest Texas and Brazos Highland, paid their reduced fines three months later, according to USDA documents. They also abandoned plans for a wind farm on the land after significant local opposition.

The members of Congress who want to tighten controls on foreign ownership say its true scope is hard to gauge when enforcement is lacking.

Senate Ban and Proposed Amendments

In late July, the Senate passed a ban on China, Russia, North Korea and Iran buying American agricultural land, but it’s unclear if the amendment will make it into the final defense spending bill that will go to a vote in Congress this fall.

One of the sponsors of the amendment, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has also proposed adding the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture secretary to conduct oversight of foreign purchases to ensure that reporting is timely and accurate, as welling as adding USDA staff to monitor purchases. She also proposes that any purchase or lease by a foreign entity that exceeds 320 acres or land valued at more than $5 million be subject to review.

In a statement, Ernst said, “Any acre of land that the Chinese Communist Party can use against the United States is a threat that must be taken seriously. We have already witnessed the danger their malign influence poses in our backyard as they bought critical land near our military installations. We need to bolster the law because currently, USDA is not fully able to enforce or police foreign investment.

“That’s why I’m working across the aisle with Democrats to protect our agriculture security that would require CFIUS [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] to do its job, modernize USDA’s process to protect our land against our adversaries, and ensure China cannot use any loophole against us.”

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

The issue of foreign ownership of agricultural land and its potential impact on food production and small-scale food producers is connected to SDG 2, which aims to achieve zero hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food for all.

SDG 15: Life on Land

The issue of land degradation and the increasing share of agricultural land owned by foreign interests is connected to SDG 15, which aims to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

The issue of weak enforcement and the need for effective, accountable, and transparent institutions to regulate foreign land purchases is connected to SDG 16, which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

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

Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers

The issue of foreign ownership of agricultural land can potentially affect the incomes of small-scale food producers. Ensuring secure and equal access to land for small-scale food producers is crucial to achieving this target.

Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil

The issue of land degradation resulting from foreign land ownership is directly related to this target. Addressing land degradation and restoring degraded land is essential to achieving sustainable land use and combating desertification.

Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels

The issue of weak enforcement and the need for stronger regulations on foreign land purchases highlights the importance of developing effective, accountable, and transparent institutions to ensure proper oversight and regulation.

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

Indicator 2.3.1: Volume of production per labor unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size

This indicator can be used to measure progress towards Target 2.3 by assessing the agricultural productivity of small-scale food producers and their ability to generate income from their land.

Indicator 15.3.1: Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area

This indicator can be used to measure progress towards Target 15.3 by monitoring the extent of land degradation and the proportion of land that has been restored or remains degraded.

Indicator 16.6.2: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector

This indicator can be used to measure progress towards Target 16.6 by assessing the level of government expenditures allocated to institutions responsible for regulating foreign land purchases and enforcing disclosure requirements.

4. SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: nbcnews.com

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