Since 1978, foreign entities and individuals have been required to report it to the USDA if they have at least a 10 percent interest in parcels of U.S. farmland totaling 10 acres or more. Yet the USDA does not review the reports for accuracy or completeness and, for lack of resources, does not even investigate if foreign investors are filing the required reports, says the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
About 27.3 million acres of U.S. agricultural land is controlled, either by ownership or long-term lease, by foreigners. That’s roughly the size of Tennessee, though it’s still a small part of the country’s overall 911 million acres of farms. Investors are obliged to report any share in 10 acres or more of land that could produce at least $1,000 in agricultural goods. The USDA defines a farm is “any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during a year.”
Since 2011, the USDA has assessed just 10 fines, totaling $115,724, under the law. The Midwest Center said its review of filings found “many of those records are incomplete and inaccurate. For example, about one million acres of land have no information about which country the owner is from.” The USDA said it asks county clerks and local realtors to share information about foreign investment in land.