LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan is one of three states in the nation that account for a 45% increase in foreign agricultural land holdings in 2022. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a foreign-owned land report.

“These increases mostly reflect large purchases of forest land in Alabama and Michigan while increases in Colorado are mostly cropland and pastures,” according to a recent report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Arkansas, Illinois, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont are the only states showing a decrease in foreign-held agricultural acres; the 302,601-acre combined decline reflects long-term leaseholds which were terminated and the sale of various types of agricultural land.” 

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Though Michigan has had an increase of over 461,000 acres, Colorado had the highest with an increase of more than 557,000 acres, followed by Alabama with an increase of more than 514,000 acres. 

Canada and the Netherlands hold ownership of more than 830,000 acres of land in Michigan. 

How does Michigan rank?

The USDA found that as of Dec. 31, 2022, 1,848,191 acres of agricultural land in Michigan, or 8.6%, was foreign held.  This total represented an increase of 28.5% compared to the 2021 holdings. 

“Given that in 2022 there were roughly 2 million farms according to the USDA and over 1 billion acres of privately-owned agricultural land in the U.S., the loss of roughly 800,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land to non-agricultural uses represents a decrease of less than one-tenth of 1% over more than half a century,” USDA’s report concluded.

“Similarly, less than two-tenths of 1% of farms saw the previous producer replaced with a foreign producer as the result of a foreign purchase. More data is needed before we can better understand and draw further conclusions on the broader impacts of foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land on family farms and rural communities.”

The report also highlighted the types of foreign-owned land in Michigan, including 1,672,957 acres of forestland; 154,543 acres of cropland; 18,243 acres of other agricultural; and 2,448 acres of pasture. 

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A further breakdown showed that seven counties accounted for more than 75% of Michigan’s  foreign owned agricultural land, including: Keweenaw, Gogebic, Ontonagon, Baraga, Alger, Houghton, and Iron. 

How much land does China hold?

The report said China held 349,442 acres, or slightly less than 1% of foreign-held acres. 

“The states with the largest Chinese holdings are Texas (162,167 acres); North Carolina (44,776 acres); Missouri (43,071); Utah (32,447 acres); and Virginia (14,382 acres),” the report said. 

The public is encouraged to provide input regarding how foreign filers report agricultural land holdings in the U.S. according to the USDA and would address proposed revisions to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) Report including: 

  • Capture additional data on long-term lessees who are required to report their transactions to USDA.
  • Propose to collect data to assess the impacts of foreign investment on producers and rural communities, as required by AFIDA. 
  • Ask filers to voluntarily provide data that will help identify their land locations geospatially.

“The input collected from the public will assist in creating an electronic submission system for foreign filers and improve accuracy in data reporting,” USDA wrote in a recent notice.

Can the public weigh in?

The public has until Feb. 16, 2024 to submit input via the Federal eRulemaking portal, and can see other comments here regarding docket FSA-2023-0017.