A U.S. Congressman from South Dakota says more transparency is needed to better understand how the U.S. government oversees foreign-owned farmland.
Dusty Johnson tells Brownfield a new bipartisan bill, called the Protect American Farmland and Rural Communities Act, would make investments in research to understand the impacts of foreign-owned land and require USDA to conduct an annual audit on foreign owned land and training to state and county officials.
“It really looks at all foreign ownership so we get a better understanding of how big an issue this is.”
The bill would also impose additional financial penalties for foreign investors and companies who don’t report their holdings to the U.S.
