There is growing concern surrounding Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland. This concern is fueled in part by the current political climate. At least 11 states are considering some form of new legislation related to foreign ownership of farmland or real estate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (reported in The New York Times). The Times reports that some of the new and proposed legislation specifically targets Chinese nationals, whereas others aim to proscribe ownership by all foreign governments, businesses and immigrants. Still others include countries considered to be security threats (e.g., Russia, Iran and North Korea).

According to the USDA, as of December 31, 2021, China held 383,935 acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land, which is slightly less than one percent of foreign-held acres. Canadian investors own the largest amount of reported foreign-held agricultural and non-agricultural land, with 12.8 million acres (31 percent of foreign-held acres). Texas has the largest amount of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land (~5.3 million acres), followed by Maine (~3.6 million acres) and Colorado (~1.9 million acres), according to the USDA.

The U.S. has a total of about 900 million acres of farmland, according to Politico.

Last Updated on February 7, 2023 by Ramin Seddiq