ATLANTA — Tyler Harper, Georgia's agriculture commissioner, on Wednesday endorsed restricting foreign ownership of farmland in the Peach State, weighing in on an issue that has recently gained traction among conservatives with a particular focus on Chinese ownership.
The issue has bubbled up in the last week with reports highlighting a Chinese billionaire, Chen Tianqiao, as the second-largest individual foreign owner of U.S. land, holding about 200,000 acres in Oregon.
Harper, on Wednesday, wrote on X: "Dozens of other states across the country – both Red & Blue – restrict adversarial foreign nations from purchasing their farmland. This session, it’s time to add Georgia’s name to the list!"
The issue has had some bipartisan support in the past couple years, with especial concern about foreign land purchases near airports and military sites. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan introduced a bill last year that would have increased oversight over foreign farmland ownership. Montana's Democratic Sen. Jon Tester has spoken out against Chinese ownership of U.S. land.
Chinese ownership of U.S. land is relatively minor -- NPR reported last year that China ranked 18th among countries with foreign ownership stakes in U.S. farmland. Canada - with 12.8 million acres - has more than the next four countries (the Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany) combined.
Among the states that restrict foreign ownership in some form, most are politically conservative -- though several Midwestern Democratic-leaning states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota, also have restrictions according to the National Agricultural Law Center. There are currently no restrictions in Georgia.
A few bills were introduced during last year's legislative session, including one passed in the Georgia Senate that would have restricted foreign land purchases by individuals or businesses from a "country of particular concern," as designated by the U.S. government, within 25 miles of military bases, installations or airports. The bill was not taken up in the Georgia House.
According to NPR, Chinese entities own land in four Georgia counties -- 956 acres in Newton County, 652 acres in Henry County, 282 acres in Jackson County and 82 acres in Clayton County.
A major operator in the U.S. of Chinese-owned land is Smithfield Foods. A report earlier this month in AgWeb highlighted the potential drawbacks of legislation restricting foreign ownership -- Jim Weisemeyer of Farm Journal noted in the report the difficulty such laws could create, for instance, for pork producers who work with Smithfield.
“I was recently in Missouri, and some commodity leaders worry about the negative consequences of going too far," Wiesemeyer said. "No one’s saying China should not be watched relative to buying farmland near airports, national security is involved in that case, but more than a few farmers are looking at the potential downsides for pork producers who contract with Smithfield and the number of acres they own.”
The report also noted that in Arkansas, one agribusiness company argued it wouldn't be able to continue researching the particular conditions in that state to produce seeds for farmers there after being ordered to sell a 160-acre farm.
So far in the new legislative term in Georgia, it's unclear if any new bills will be introduced on the matter or if any of the previous ones from last year could be revived.
