The House Appropriations Committee has approved a provision to ban purchase of U.S. farmland by companies or entities domiciled in Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.  The proposal was introduced into the Appropriations Committee by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and was added to the USDA-FDA funding bill.

Rep. Newhouse has warned that foreign investment in U.S. farmland may impact the supply of food.  In 2021 the Appropriations Committee request the USDA to investigate and report on ownership of U.S. farmland by specific nations some of which are antagonistic to the U.S.  Had a legal restraint on purchase of land been in effect in 2013, WH Group may have been blocked from the purchase of Smithfield Foods. An additional concern has been raised over China purchasing tracts of land near the Grand Forks, ND. and the Laughlin, TX. USAF bases representing a potential national security risk.

According to the USDA foreign investors own 37.6 million acres, close to three percent of U.S. agricultural land including forest and crop land effective December 2020.  Of this total, almost half is forestland and 30 percent cropland with the remainder comprising pastures.