To amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to strengthen oversight over foreign investment in the United States agricultural industry, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The FARMLAND Act of 2025 restricts foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land by strengthening disclosure requirements and expanding federal review powers. It targets 'foreign entities of concern' including China, Russia, and state sponsors of terrorism, requiring CFIUS review of real estate purchases over $5 million or 320 acres that involve agriculture, energy, or critical materials.
Who Benefits and How
U.S. farmers and agricultural producers benefit from reduced competition from foreign-backed acquisitions and protection of agricultural intellectual property. The domestic farming sector gains protection from being undercut by foreign state-subsidized competitors. National security agencies gain expanded authority to investigate and block threatening transactions.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Foreign investors from China, Russia, and other covered countries face significant new barriers to purchasing U.S. farmland and are prohibited from FSA program benefits. Real estate professionals (agents, brokers, title companies) must conduct due diligence and certify compliance, adding compliance costs. The Department of Agriculture must establish a new investigative office and database system.
Key Provisions
- Expands CFIUS authority to review agricultural land purchases by foreign entities of concern exceeding $5M or 320 acres
- Creates Chief of Operations position at USDA to investigate foreign agricultural threats and conduct audits
- Prohibits foreign persons from participating in Farm Service Agency programs
- Requires creation of a consolidated database of foreign-owned agricultural land
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Strengthens federal oversight and restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land, particularly targeting China, Russia, and state sponsors of terrorism
Key Policy Areas
Agriculture, National Security, Foreign Investment, Real Estate
Primary Purpose
Strengthens federal oversight and restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land, particularly targeting China, Russia, and state sponsors of terrorism
Policy Domains
FARMLAND Act of 2025
Identified Gains
- U.S. farmers and agricultural producers
- Domestic agribusiness companies
- National security agencies
Identified Costs
- Foreign investors from covered countries
- Real estate professionals
- USDA and DHS
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Ernst (for herself, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Fetterman, and Mr. …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
CFIUS and Treasury Department, Congressional oversight committees, Department of Agriculture
Positive-direction: Congressional oversight committees, National security agencies (FBI, DHS, DOJ), USDA implementation and security infrastructure
Negative-direction: CFIUS and Treasury Department, Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture and reporting staff, USDA Chief of Operations and investigative staff, USDA and DHS database development teams
Foreign entities attempting agricultural IP theft, Foreign entities of concern seeking U.S. agricultural land, Foreign investors from China, Russia, and covered countries
Foreign persons operating U.S. farms, U.S. citizen farmers, U.S. farmers and agricultural producers
Positive-direction: U.S. citizen farmers, U.S. farmers and agricultural producers
Negative-direction: Foreign persons operating U.S. farms
Buyers and sellers of agricultural land, Domestic agricultural land buyers, Real estate agents and brokers handling agricultural land
Positive-direction: Domestic agricultural land buyers
Negative-direction: Buyers and sellers of agricultural land, Real estate agents and brokers handling agricultural land
Title companies processing agricultural land transfers
Policy researchers and transparency advocates
Federal contractors for database and secure facilities
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "cfius"
- → Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretaries"
- → Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Homeland Security (jointly)
- "the_chief_of_operations"
- → Chief of Operations of Investigative Actions (USDA)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
As defined in section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508)
As defined in section 781.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations
A foreign person that is a citizen of, or headquartered in, a covered foreign country
People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, state sponsors of terrorism, and any other country identified by Secretary of Homeland Security or Secretary of Agriculture
As defined in section 9901 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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