Foreign direct investments in U.S. agricultural land

Abstract

U.S. agricultural land remains attractive to foreign investors. As of December 31, 2020, foreign direct investment in this property amounted to $4.5 million, which is three times higher than in 2014. Foreign individuals and companies currently held an interest in nearly 15.2 million hectares of US agricultural land. This represents 2.9 percent of all privately owned agricultural land in the United States. Almost half of the reported foreign interest holdings of U.S. land are arable land and pastures, with timber and forestland accounting for 46 percent of the total acreage, which are mainly used by timber and "green" energy companies. Canadian investors own the largest amount of reported foreign-held agricultural land, with 32 percent. Foreign persons from an additional four countries, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany collectively held 31 percent of the foreign-held acreages in the United States. The state of Texas has the largest amount of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land. Maine has the second, Alabama - the third largest amount of foreign-held agricultural land. Three states collectively held more than 25% of the reported foreign-held agricultural land in the United States, the vast majority of which is forestland. Current law imposes no restrictions on the amount of private U.S. agricultural land that can be foreign owned. However, several states have imposed certain prohibitions or restrictions on foreign ownership, but do not significantly inhibit foreign farmland ownership, while most states expressly allow foreign ownership. The US government controls direct investment flows. Federal law requires foreign persons and entities to disclose to USDA information related to foreign investment and ownership of U.S. agricultural land. The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA) and its federal regulations, implemented by USDA, established a nationwide system for the collection of information pertaining to foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land. At the federal level, the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) authorized to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the United States in order to determine the effect of such transactions on U.S. national security.