China Is Buying Up US Farmland, But How Much Isn’t Clear
- Better data could help identify US security risks, GAO says
- Foreign stakes in US cropland increased from 2016 to 2021
Outside ownership of US cropland is drawing attention from Washington as concern rises about possible threats to food supply chains and other national security risks.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergAmerica is seeing more and more of its most fertile land snapped up by China and other foreign buyers, yet problems with how the US tracks such data means it’s difficult to know just how much, according to a report.
Foreign ownership and investment in property such as farmland, pastures and forests jumped to about 40 million acres in 2021, up 40% from 2016, according to the US Department of Agriculture data. But an analysis conducted by the US Government Accountability Office — a non-partisan watchdog that reports to Congress — found mistakes in the data, including the largest land holding linked with China being counted twice. Other issues include the challenge of enforcing a US law that requires foreigners to self-report such purchases, the report said, citing USDA.