Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran would be banned from owning U.S. agricultural land under legislation just advanced by a House panel. It was the second try for House appropriators after they failed last year to get the Senate to agree to a ban on foreign ownership of U.S. ag land for the key U.S. foes in the annual USDA spending bill. But this year, Washington state Representative Dan Newhouse suggested war and aggression could make a difference.
“Given the horrific events in Ukraine at the hands of Russia and the Putin regime. As many members of this committee know, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are not our allies,” he said.
Current federal law imposes no restrictions on foreign farmland ownership here, requiring reporting only, while just six states impose bans that Newhouse says can get circumvented. He says the issue is too important to drop.
The NAFB contributed to this report.
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Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.