Foreign land investments exposes U.S. security issues

Kristen Sindelar
Oct 26, 2023
Oct 26, 2023

**County Concentration of Foreign Holdings of Crop Land**
This graph depicts the concentration of crop land owned by foreign entities as of Dec. 31, 2021. Other types of land, such as pastureland and forestland, or not included in the data.
Submitted image from USDA-FSA “Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land through Dec. 31, 2021”

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When you gaze at a globe of the world, each country is distinguished by thick lines and brightly-colored landscapes.

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Foreign land ownership 5.JPG — Landholdings (Acres) by Country of Foreign Investor in Nebraska, Dec. 31, 2021
In Nebraska, nearly 800,000 acres of land is foreign-owned.
Submitted image from CAP

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Total Acres of Foreign-owned Land by Country of Origin, 2021
Canada ranks No. 1 on the list of countries that own land in the U.S. In all, about 40.8 million U.S. acres are foreign-owned.
Submitted image from USDA-FSA “Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land through Dec. 31, 2021”

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**Trends in Foreign Holdings of Agricultural Land by Type of Use for the Period 2011-2021**
Forestland exceeds any other type of use for foreign-owned land in the U.S. Foreign-owned cropland has spiked in recent years as other countries install electrical generation facilities on U.S. soil.
Submitted image from USDA-FSA “Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land through Dec. 31, 2021”

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Reporter Kristen Sindelar has loved agriculture her entire life, coming from a diversified farm with three generations working side-by-side in northeastern Nebraska. Reach her at Kristen.Sindelar@midwestmessenger.com.