Since 2015, the amount of land owned or leased by foreign individuals or companies has more than tripled, sparking increased political attention on whether new restrictions should be put in place.
Foreign-owned land nationwide remained steady at around 15 million acres during the 1980s and 1990s, according to USDA records.
But foreign-owned acres have increased significantly over the last decade, topping 40 million in 2021.
Some states, like Oklahoma, and members of Congress have highlighted land owned by Chinese companies. A handful of foreign meat-producing companies, like Smithfield Foods, a Chinese-owned pork producer, own land across the country for farms or meat packing facilities.
However, most of the growth in foreign-owned land has been from North American and European companies, many building wind and solar farms.
Source: Investigate Midwest
