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In Ohio, foreign investors own about half a million acres of farmland — with Germany and the Netherlands leading in most land bought. China is another significant investor. Ohio Farm Bureau members have become increasingly concerned about foreign ownership in recent years, as any threat to Ohio farmland is one they take very seriously.

At the federal level, bipartisan legislation was introduced to address this issue through the AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024 (S. 3666). In Ohio, House Bill 1 aims to strengthen current laws on reporting foreign ownership by expanding data collection and enhancing enforcement against suspected non-filers. Without real-time data, it is impossible to understand the true threat to Ohio and American agriculture posed by foreign adversaries.

“Land owned by foreign adversaries is only the latest threat to protecting farmland, not just in Ohio but across the country,” said Ohio Farm Bureau Director of State Policy Evan Callicoat in testimony supporting HB 1 earlier this week before the Ohio House Public Safety Committee.

According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ohio has lost nearly 300,000 acres of farmland in the last five years. In most if not all cases, that land will never be able to be productive farmland again, which is a unique issue the agriculture industry faces compared to others. 

“As Ohio continues to face economic, housing, and energy development pressures, our organization hopes to engage with all sectors for effective land use management,” Callicoat told the committee. “As the General Assembly reviews the operating budget, we urge consideration of options that enhance rural community planning, such as support for local land use planning and empowering communities to shape their own economic futures.

“We are thankful to the sponsors and the General Assembly’s interest in this issue,” Callicoat continued. “Still, land held by foreign adversaries is only one of many factors contributing to farmland loss, and we encourage the General Assembly to look at this issue holistically and help Ohio’s number one industry continue to flourish.”