Senate Ag Committee members Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) are asking the USDA to improve its process for foreign-owned farmland disclosures. A letter to the agency follows alleged inaccuracies posted online by the Farm Service Agency under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act.
“It’s essential for the USDA to ensure that the information published on its website is accurate and reliable,” the senators said in the letter. “Inaccurate information can have significant implications for various stakeholders and erodes public trust in the integrity of the reporting process.”
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the current practice of manual entry, including the re-typing of paper-filed reports into FSA systems, can lead to the publication of problematic and inaccurate information. “We’re told there have been instances where energy developers have been incorrectly identified as having ownership interest from sanctioned nations when, in reality, the investment behind the company originates from U.S. allies,” said Vilsack.
Meanwhile, concerns over foreign farm ownership is now spreading to foreign ownership of American infrastructure. A Chinese company recently purchased a grain terminal in St. Louis on the Mississippi River.