Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries will no longer be allowed to purchase United States farmland, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Tuesday, July 8, citing national security threats. According to the agency, China owns more than 265,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land.
“American agriculture is not just about feeding our families, but about protecting our nation and standing up to foreign adversaries who are buying our farmland, stealing our research and creating dangerous vulnerabilities in the very systems that sustain us,” Secretary Rollins said.
National Farm Security Action Plan introduced
Rollins unveiled the Trump administration’s new “National Farm Security Action Plan” alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, R, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, R.
Officials said the action plan aims to:
1. Secure and protect American farmland
2. Enhance agricultural supply chain resilience
3. Protect U.S. nutrition from fraud, abuse and foreign adversaries
4. Enhance research security
5. Evaluate USDA programs to ensure “America First” policies
6. Safeguard plant and animal health
7. Protect critical infrastructure
Cancellations and transparency measures announced
Rollins said the USDA has canceled seven agreements connected to foreign countries of concern due to national security or policy reasons, and noted that the agency will cancel more in the future.
The USDA also plans to make it easier for the public to see who owns U.S. farmland, with an emphasis on improving transparency around foreign ownership. Officials said they will work closely with lawmakers at both the state and federal levels to prevent foreign adversaries from purchasing American agricultural land.
Noem: ‘Food policy is national security policy’
Homeland Security Secretary Noem, a farmer before joining President Donald Trump’s cabinet, reflected on her time as governor of South Dakota. She noted that she had signed a bill into law restricting foreign ownership of farmland in the state due to national security concerns.
“I recognize that food policy is national security policy,” she said. “A country who cannot feed itself, cannot take care of itself, and cannot provide for itself, is not secure, and that we have to be able to feed ourselves to make sure that no other country ever controls us.”
Pentagon to monitor land near military bases
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added that the Pentagon will begin monitoring who owns land near U.S. military bases across the country.
“No longer can foreign adversaries assume we’re not watching, and we’re not paying attention, and we’re not doing something about it,” he said. “Because we are.”