House hearing scheduled to investigate China’s threat to U.S. agriculture industry

A congressional hearing this week will investigate China’s threat to the U.S. agriculture industry amid concerns about increasing foreign ownership of American farmland.

The House Committee on Agriculture will discuss intellectual property theft, such as stealing patented seeds, as well as hacking of U.S. cyber infrastructure and the foreign purchase of U.S. farmland. The title of Wednesday’s session is “The Danger China Poses to American Agriculture.”

“It’s no secret that China poses significant threats to our way of life, agriculture is no exception. We’ve seen China steal our intellectual property, hack our cyber infrastructure, and buy up American farmland,” said Chair Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania Republican. “We will look to every available legislative vehicle, including the farm bill, to stop China in its tracks and strengthen our food and national security.”

Lawmakers will hear testimony from South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who has implemented stringent restrictions on foreign ownership of farmland in her state; Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chair Mike Gallagher, Pennsylvania Republican, and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois Democrat. 

The Government Accountability Office released a report in January detailing how foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land grew to about 40 million acres in 2021, per USDA estimates. The report was requested by Mr. Thompson and House Oversight Chair James Comer, Georgia Republican.

The Agriculture Department has said since 2017, foreign holdings have increased an average of nearly 2.9 million acres per year.

According to the GAO, this explosive growth poses “national security risks—such as when foreign interests buy land near U.S. military installations.”

The GAO found the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not share timely data on foreign investments in agricultural land collected under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA).

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, is required to identify and review transactions that potentially pose national security risks. This includes the proximity of agricultural land to a sensitive military base.  

However, according to the GAO, the USDA only publishes this selected AFIDA information online once a year that CFIUS agencies may use when considering potential national security risks associated with agricultural land. 

The USDA has requested funding to create a real-time data system to elevate visibility of potential national security risks related to foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land.

The USDA suggests this information should be accessible by other U.S. government agencies and the public. 

“Growing foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, particularly by China, poses a direct threat to our food security and national security,” Mr. Thompson and Mr. Comer said of the report at the time. “Safeguarding our farmland and food supply requires a whole of government approach and we will continue to work with the impacted agencies, related committees, and leadership to continue our robust oversight and to identify legislative vehicles to address the findings of the GAO report.”