Tuberville, Ricketts Reintroduce Legislation to Codify Oversight on Foreign Purchases of American Farmland

June 9, 2025 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) to reintroduce the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act to bolster reporting requirements for foreign owners of American farmland. The legislation would codify recommendations to the original AFIDA of 1978 that were published in January 2024 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after it found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not prepared to fully combat foreign ownership of American farmland by foreign adversaries.

"Over the past several decades, China has been buying up American farmland in an attempt to infiltrate our agriculture supply chains," said Senator Tuberville. "Food security is national security, and we cannot give the CCP a foothold. Thankfully, President Trump and Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins are working to make American Farmland American Again. I'm proud to join this legislation with Senator Ricketts to update our reporting requirements for foreign purchases of our farmland for the first time in nearly 50 years. As Alabama's voice on the Senate Ag Committee, I will always support our great farmers and work to protect them from bad actors like China."

"Agriculture is the heart and soul of Nebraska and of America," said Senator Ricketts. "American farmland should remain in the hands of American farmers and ranchers, not foreign adversaries. Food security is national security."

U.S. Representative Don Bacon (R-NE-02) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

BACKGROUND:

According to USDA data from December 2023, foreign investors own more than 45 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. And in Alabama, we have the FOURTH-HIGHEST amount of foreign-owned land in the U.S. with 2.2 million acres.

Senator Tuberville has been a staunch leader in protecting America's farmland and agricultural supply chains from foreign influence. Earlier this year, he reintroduced two pieces of legislation-the Protecting America's Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act and the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act-to further safeguard our domestic agriculture resources.

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act would:

· Increase information sharing between the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and USDA

· Require updates to the AFIDA handbook

· Establish a deadline by which USDA must set up an online AFIDA system

· Require AFIDA reporting for foreign persons holding more than 1% interest in American agricultural land

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans' Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.