Congress restricts foreign-government land grabs in U.S. agriculture

What it does

This bill prohibits persons controlled by or associated with the governments of Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia from purchasing or leasing agricultural land in the United States—both public land managed by federal agencies and private farmland. It also bars such persons from participating in most Department of Agriculture programs, expands the definition of reportable foreign agricultural interests to include security interests and leases of any duration, increases civil penalties for non-disclosure, and requires public disclosure of foreign ownership data within 30 days of reporting.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a national-security-driven prohibition on foreign-government-linked entities acquiring U.S. agricultural land, paired with expanded disclosure and enforcement. It is a protective measure targeting foreign adversary control of critical food-production assets, not a deregulation, subsidy, or commemorative act.

What the text implies

• The bill grants the President broad authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement the prohibition, potentially allowing executive action without further congressional approval and creating enforcement discretion that could expand beyond the named four countries if the President invokes emergency powers.
• Expanded definition of 'interest' to include leases of any duration may capture short-term agricultural leases and operational arrangements previously not subject to foreign-investment disclosure, significantly broadening the scope of reportable transactions.
• Public disclosure of foreign ownership data within 30 days, while promoting transparency, may create a real-time map of foreign agricultural holdings that could inform targeting or strategic decisions by foreign actors or domestic competitors.
• The bill does not retroactively require divestment of agricultural land already owned by covered persons as of enactment, creating a grandfather clause that allows existing foreign-government-linked holdings to remain in place indefinitely.
• Increased civil penalties (15–30% of value) and liens on land may incentivize covered persons to transfer holdings to U.S. citizens or shell entities, potentially obscuring true foreign control rather than eliminating it.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill restricts foreign-government-linked entities from acquiring control of U.S. agricultural land and food production, protecting citizens' food-supply security and preventing potential foreign leverage over critical infrastructure. The transparency requirements (public disclosure of foreign ownership within 30 days) strengthen democratic accountability and public knowledge of foreign interests in U.S. agriculture.

Named in the bill

Department of Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Defense, Farm Service Agency, Director of National Intelligence, Government of Iran, Government of North Korea, People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 — and 1 more

Where it stands

17 cosponsors: 14 Republicans, 3 Democrats.

• Feb 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 18, 2025 — Referred to House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Committee on Foreign Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $40,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Dale Strong, the sponsor, reported $659,420 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Afida Modernization Committee (informal Coalition) — $40,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.