Foreign investors acquired 3.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in 2020, now possessing or leasing nearly two percent of the entire U.S. landmass, according to recent federal data.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disclosed in a report this month that “foreign persons held an interest in over 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land as of December 31, 2022.”
This represents a notable increase of 3.4 million acres from the December 31, 2021 report, constituting 3.4 percent of privately held agricultural land and nearly 2 percent of all U.S. land.
While foreign interest in U.S. farmland was once uncommon, it has seen a significant surge in recent years, primarily attributed to foreign-controlled wind energy farms.
The USDA highlighted that “foreign holdings of U.S. agricultural land increased modestly from 2012 through 2017, increasing an average of 0.6 million per year. Since 2017, foreign holdings have increased an average of nearly 2.9 million acres annually.”
Among the nations with significant land holdings, citizens of the United Arab Emirates controlled 46,496 acres, Venezuelans 28,218, Saudis 18,586, Egyptians 17,645, firms linked to Iran 2,463, Syrians 2,574, Pakistanis 1,677, Cuban investors controlled 848 acres, and Russians 73 acres. Additionally, a firm listing its country as the “State of Palestine” possessed 11,381 acres.