Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: Combatting Communist China’s Ownership of America’s Farmland
Rural communities are the heart and soul of Nebraska. Their health care needs are unique and require tailored solutions. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) puts rural patients front and center. It brings care, stability, and reform where it’s needed most. We are providing for rural hospitals so they can continue providing for the Good Life.
Agriculture is the backbone of what we do in Nebraska and America. American farmland should remain in the hands of American farmers and ranchers, not foreign adversaries. Food security is national security.
Communist China is the greatest threat to the American way of life. Under Dictator Xi Jinping, Communist China is threatening our peace and prosperity. Communist China is buying up strategic American farmland located near military installations. The hardworking Americans that feed us should benefit from land ownership. Communist China should not.
Our entire government has to work together if we are going to combat Communist China’s ownership of American land. My Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act does just that. It increases collaboration between the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is a part of the Treasury Department, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This complements Agriculture Secretary Rollins’ recently established National Farm Security Action Plan. It makes our government aware of Communist China’s influence in rural America. When we strengthen detection mechanisms, we strengthen the security of our nation.
AFIDA requires foreign entities to disclose all transactions of American agricultural land. As of 2023, Communist China owned more than 277,000 acres of farmland. Between 2010 and 2021, Chinese ownership of American agricultural land increased from 13,720 acres to 383,935 acres. It's not just about the number of acres that they own. The land they own surrounds the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Communist China is buying land around sensitive military installations. Chinese land ownership is a real national security threat.
It’s time to protect our homeland. We are at the most dangerous point in our history since World War II. We must counter Communist China’s aggressive and deceptive behavior. American farmland must not be a tool that Communist China can use as a strategic advantage. We know that Chinese nationals have tried to steal our agriculture biotechnology. Two Chinese Communist agents were arrested at the University of Michigan earlier this year for smuggling dangerous biological pathogens into the U.S. These pathogens could have been used to attack our crops. Chinese nationals been crashing gates of bases. Supposed Chinese tourists have been flying drones around bases. These aren’t minor intrusions. They are a serious national security concern.
AFIDA requires foreign parties to report their interest in American agricultural land. My bill would improve the disclosure process. It encourages action to ensure Communist China can’t buy our land. Congressional Republicans must keep our country safe in the heartland.
The AFIDA Improvements Act modernizes the disclosure process for foreign owned land. Manual data entry can lead to the publication of problematic and inaccurate information. When we improve the accuracy the disclosure process, we help our allies and American agricultural producers. This lets us focus enforcement on Communist China and other adversaries.
In the Senate, I am working to ensure all aspects of our government are ready to respond to Beijing’s malign influence. The USDA’s AFIDA process has been ill-equipped to combat foreign adversaries’ ownership of American agricultural land. As President Trump responds to rising global threats, this bill improves our nation’s ability to identify and assess foreign threats in our rural communities. The AFIDA Improvements Act protects Nebraska farmers and ranchers. It protects our nation. When our agriculture flourishes, our state and our nation does too.