By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Foreign interests in U.S. agricultural land continue to increase, and Texas accounts for more foreign-held acreage than any other state.

Foreign entities held interests in 47.24 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in 2024, an increase of about 2.34 million acres from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

That represents 3.6% of privately held agricultural land in the U.S., according to Faith Parum, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

Foreign-held agricultural land has increased by about 91% since 2010, when foreign investors held about 24.8 million acres.

Texas had the most foreign-held agricultural land of any state in 2024 with approximately 5.9 million acres, an increase of about 231,000 acres from the previous year.

Foreign-held land, however, does not necessarily mean foreign-owned land.

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 requires foreign entities to report agricultural land holdings, including long-term leases.  In many cases, energy companies lease acreage from U.S. landowners.

“Most foreign-held agricultural land is forestland or tied to renewable energy projects,” Parum said. “Forestland accounted for approximately 22.2 million acres of foreign holdings in 2024, nearly half of the reported acreage. Cropland accounted for approximately 13.7 million acres, with the remainder consisting largely of pastureland and other agricultural land.”

Renewable energy development has contributed significantly to the increase in foreign-held acreage.

Land associated with foreign-held companies involved in wind, solar and other energy projects increased from 2.9 million acres in 2010 to 14.2 million acres in 2024.

“One of the bigger questions for farmers and ranchers is how long-term energy leases reshape land use and competition for ground in their communities,” Parum said.

Canadian investors hold the largest share of foreign-held agricultural land, with about 16.1 million acres.

Investors from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom collectively hold another 12.8 million acres. Much of that acreage was connected to timber, renewable energy and farming operations.

Chinese investors held about 245,000 acres in 2024, down roughly 11% from the previous year. The acreage represents 0.02% of privately held agricultural land in the U.S.

Hostile foreign ownership of agricultural land is one of Texas Farm Bureau’s state priority issues. The organization supports changes in statute that would prevent foreign ownership of agricultural land that results in unfair trade advantages or endangers U.S. national security.

More information about foreign-held agricultural land is available in the AFBF Intel report.