USDA Requests Public Input on Reporting for Foreign Agriculture Land Holdings

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting public input – due by Feb. 16, 2024 – on how foreign filers report agricultural land holdings in the United States. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is proposing to update the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Report form so that reporting can include data on long-term lessees, data to assess the impacts of foreign investment on agricultural producers and rural communities, and to gather geospatial information. These updates to the form will help FSA in the collection of data as it administers the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA).   

“USDA seeks to improve the information that we are collecting about foreign ownership and leasing of U.S. agricultural land,” said Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie. “This process, which includes public input on changes to the form, will lead to more insightful reporting to Congress and the public.”  

The public can submit input through the Federal eRulemaking portal, docket FSA-2023-0017. All comments will be posted without change and will be publicly available on www.regulations.gov. For more information contact Mary Estep at (202) 720-3217 or mary.estep@usda.gov.     

The proposed revisions to the FSA-153 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Report form will:   

• Capture additional data on long-term lessees who are required to report their transactions to USDA. 
• Propose to collect data to assess the impacts of foreign investment on producers and rural communities, as required by AFIDA.  
• Ask filers to voluntarily provide data that will help identify their land locations geospatially.   

The input collected from the public will assist in creating an electronic submission system for foreign filers and improve accuracy in data reporting.  

About AFIDA  

AFIDA became law in late 1978. The regulations at 7 CFR, Part 781, Disclosure of Foreign Investment in Agricultural Land, were created to implement the AFIDA. In particular, they were created to establish a nationwide system for the collection of information pertaining to foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land. The regulations require foreign persons, including entities, who acquire, transfer or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land to report such holdings and transactions to the Secretary of Agriculture on an AFIDA Report form FSA-153.  

Additionally, FSA also released its AFIDA report to Congress today. View the report.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.