(Salt Lake City, Utah) –February 5, 2013—Utah State USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Arthur Douglas, reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their

holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

"Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10

years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days

after the date of the transaction," said Douglas.

Foreign investors must file Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reports with the FSA county office that

maintains reports for the county where the land is located.

“Failure to file a report, filing a late report or filing an inaccurate report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25

percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land,” said Douglas.

For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts

total 10 acres or more.

Disclosure reports are also required when there are changes in land use. For example, reports are required when land use

changes from nonagricultural to agricultural or from agricultural to nonagricultural. Foreign investors must also file a

report when there is a change in the status of ownership such as the owner changes from foreign to non-foreign, from

non-foreign to foreign or from foreign to foreign.

Data gained from these disclosures is used to prepare an annual report to the President and Congress concerning the effect of

such holdings upon family farms and rural communities in the United States.

For more information regarding AFIDA and FSA programs, contact the Utah State FSA office at (801) 524-4530 or visit the USDA

Web site at http://www.usda.gov.