Bill on Foreign Ownership of Land Passed
Published: Friday, February 2, 2024
The Indiana House Agriculture Committee has unanimously approved a measure that bans foreign ownership or leasing of Indiana farmland.
HB 1183, introduced by State Rep. Kendell Culp (R-Renssalear), won bipartisan support early this week from the 12-member committee, with one member absent. The measure now moves to the full chamber.
If it becomes law, Indiana would become the 25th state to limit ownership of farmland by foreign entities. The ban wouldn't apply to every country but only to those identified as "foreign adversaries." The list of foreign adversaries is maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce and currently includes six countries: China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran.
"This is not just an agricultural or rural issue," Culp said in Monday's hearing. "This is a food security issue. We cannot afford to lose control of even a fraction of our food supply, because if we do, then it becomes a national security issue."
Under Culp's bill, individuals, businesses, LLC's or government agencies from any foreign adversary would be prohibited from owning or leasing Indiana farmland and from leasing mineral and water rights in the Hoosier state.
"Currently in the bill, as drafted, there is zero tolerance for any type of adversarial ownership of Indiana farmland from the effective date forward," Culp said, adding that this new law, if passed, would take effect July 1.
An amendment was added to clarify how this restriction would apply to publicly traded companies with foreign-owned stockholders. Culp's bill provides that no more than 5% of the company's stock can be owned by a foreign adversary.
"Anything over 5% would not be allowed," he said.
If a foreign adversary manages to purchase farmland by presenting a false affidavit, the bill provides a legal mechanism for the land to be seized by a local court.
Culp said there is growing concern in his legislative district about foreign adversaries acquiring U.S. farmland. His own legislative survey shows that 91% of respondents oppose adversarial countries from owning Indiana farmland.
Canada owns 40 million acres of U.S. farmland, the most, by far, of any foreign entity. China owns 400,000 acres, but Culp said "that number is growing at an alarming rate."
Overall, foreign ownership of U.S. farmland has been increasing by 2.2 million acres per year since 2015, according to Culp.
A total of 2.2% of Indiana farmland is owned or leased by foreign entities, and nearly 80% of that is cropland.
"That's why (HB) 1183 is so important," Culp said. "We need to keep that number from climbing."
The Indiana county with the most foreign investment is White County. Culp explained that most of those acres are involved in renewable energy projects with a Portuguese-owned company.
The bill defines farmland as any land that is recognized by the USDA's Farm Service Agency as cropland, pastureland or timberland, or any land that has had agricultural activity in at least one of the previous five years.
The bill applies only to new land transactions.
Last Friday, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, both Republicans, announced support for Culp's bill (see page 18).
Other supporters include the Indiana Attorney General's office, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Growers Assn., among others. INFB's Andy Tauer said the legislation is "very high on the priority list for our membership."
At least two farmers spoke in favor of the bill. Chad Kirkpatrick of Grant County and John Sparks of Hancock County both said food production is a national security issue, and Culp's bill would help safeguard Indiana farmland from foreign adversaries.
"Agriculture is often an overlooked spoke in the wheel of national security," Sparks said. "The limiting of ownership and leases of land to adversarial nations makes perfect sense."
One of the groups opposing the bill is the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Indiana. Chris Daley, executive director, said the bill could discriminate against people based on their national origin. He added that a well-intentioned person could flee an adversarial country to seek freedom here in the U.S., only to be denied the opportunity to buy or rent farmland. He said the bill is an overreach.
"If Indiana is going to address concerns about ownership of agricultural land in our state, it must do so in a way that does not punish people for the actions of the government of the country where they were born," Daley said.
State Rep. John Bartlett (D-Indianapolis) agreed that foreign-born individuals should be able to buy or lease land anywhere in the United States.
State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City) pointed out that some of the countries on the list do not currently allow Americans to purchase land there.
Culp responded to the criticism that the bill discriminates against foreign-born individuals.
"It does specifically say in the bill (that) they have to be a citizen of that country," he said. "So, if they are living here, there is a process to go through to become a U.S. citizen. If they haven't gone through that process, then, yes, they are subject to the terms of this bill."
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