From The Center for Rural Affairs:
A recent report from the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that foreign holdings of U.S. farmland doubled between 2004 and 2014. Foreign investors now control 27.3 million acres of farmland.
Among the leading foreign owners of domestic farmland is the Chinese firm Shuanghui. The same firm purchased pork giant Smithfield Foods in 2013. Shuanghui owns more than 146,000 acres of farmland in the U.S.
The Center for Rural Affairs has long fought corporate control of our farmland and food production. Nebraska’s Initiative 300 barred corporate ownership of farmland in the state. The 1982 ballot amendment won the support of Nebraskans concerned about maintaining control over the basic assets of their communities. The law was struck down after three decades in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
