In a recent survey, USDA data confirmed that Canada is the largest foreign owner of farmland in the U.S.  Our northern neighbor has title 12.8 million acres, mostly forests comprising one third of all foreign ownership. Among European nations, the Netherlands, Italy, the U.K. and Germany collectively hold 12.4 million acres.  China owns close to 400,000 acres approximately one percent of all foreign-owned land.  Of this total, approximately 40 percent was acquired with the purchase of Smithfield Foods by the WH Group in 2013.

With increasing tensions with China and the emergence of Sinophobia as an election issue, 14 states in the U.S. have either enacted or are considering restrictions on land ownership by China specifically and possibly other nations.  Clearly if China wishes to purchase tracts of land for reasons motivated by intended espionage, appropriate restrictions should be strictly enforced. It is ironic that states that appear the most offended by the policies and expansionist intentions of China are themselves reliant on that nation as a customer for exported agricultural commodities.