This data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals a concerning trend of foreign ownership of American farmland, with a significant portion of it being acquired by Chinese investors. In 2022, foreign entities owned approximately 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, with Chinese investors alone holding ownership of 346,915 acres. This marks a substantial increase from 2010, when Chinese investors owned just 13,720 acres.
The scope of this issue is further highlighted by the fact that Chinese entities have ownership in 29 out of the 50 U.S. states. This trend raises serious national security concerns, as it potentially allows foreign entities to exert influence over a critical sector of the U.S. economy – one that is already under threat from the “let them eat bugs, and stop cows burping” brigades.
Canadian investors hold the largest share of foreign-owned agricultural and non-agricultural land in the U.S., owning 32 percent or 14.2 million acres.
Investors from four countries—Netherlands (12 percent), Italy (6 percent), the United Kingdom (6 percent), and Germany (5 percent)—together possess another 13 million acres, accounting for 29 percent of all foreign-held land in the U.S.
The remaining 38 percent, or 17.1 million acres, are owned by other countries. For instance, China owns 346,915 acres, representing <1% of foreign-held acres.
According to USDA:
Chinese primary-investor filers reported owning 346,915 acres of agricultural land as of December 31, 2022.
Two Chinese-owned companies—Brazos Highland Properties, LP and Murphy Brown LLC (Smithfield Foods)—reported 102,345 acres and 97,975 acres, respectively, and were by far the largest Chinese reporters.
Other top Chinese-owned reporters were Murphy Brown of Missouri (Smithfield Foods) (42,716 acres); Harvest Texas, LLC (29,705 acres); and Walton International Group (USA), Inc. (29,437 acres) (Report 10).
These five companies accounted for 87 percent of all reported Chinese holdings. There were no filings directly by the government of China. Chinese investments in U.S. agricultural land are spread across the country (figure 4).
The states with the largest Chinese holdings are Texas (159,640 acres); North Carolina (44,776 acres); Missouri (43,071 acres); Utah (32,447 acres); and Virginia (14,382 acres) (Report 11).
Together, these five states had 85 percent of Chinese filings associated with U.S. agricultural land. In Texas, in particular, long-term leases associated with wind energy investment predominate, while land ownership tends to be more common in other states.
USDA
Shocking Map Reveals Vast US Farmland Owned by Chinese Government via @gatewaypundit https://t.co/MHgbGtHqO4
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) May 30, 2024