OPINION:
Congress must pass the 2024 farm bill, which includes a provision to provide oversight of and restriction on foreign companies and governments purchasing U.S. farmland. In particular, it must address purchases by entities from China and other adversarial countries.
Although these companies might only own a very small percentage of U.S. farmland, purchases by Chinese companies have increased in recent years, including the purchase of Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer.
Several Chinese companies have tried to purchase farmland near U.S. military bases. In 2021, a Chinese company tried to purchase land about 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. The base houses top-secret intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance facilities, as well as communication facilities.
Luckily, the deal was killed by intervention from the Air Force. But before the Grand Forks effort, another Chinese company tried to purchase land near Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. Lawmakers killed that deal.
We have to stop allowing companies in countries including China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela from purchasing our farmland and our corporations. These countries are ongoing threats to our national security.
DONALD MOSKOWITZ
Londonderry, New Hampshire
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