Summary of Report
Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land Through December 31, 1997
SB #943, September 1998
Contact: Charles H. Barnard, 202-694-5602, cbarnard@ERS.USDA.gov
Foreign persons owned 14.3 million acres of U.S. agricultural land (forest land and farmland) as of December 31, 1997. This is slightly more than 1 percent of all privately held agricultural land and 0.63 percent of all land in thre United States.
These and other findings in this report are based on an analysis of reports submitted in compliance with the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978.
The 14.3 million acres of foreign-owned agricultural land is an increase of 199,419 acres from 1996. Forest land accounted for nearly 45 percent of all foreign-owned acreage, cropland for 17 percent, pasture and other agricultural land for 35 percent, and nonagricultural land for 3 percent.
Corporations owned 79 percent of the acreage, partnerships 12 percent, and individuals 6 percent. The remaining 6 percent was held by estates, trusts, institutions, associations, and others.
U.S. corporations in which foreign persons have a significant interest or substantial control reported owning 61 percent of the foreign-held acreage. More than 57 percent of the foreign-held acreage was owned by persons from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
A number of tracts of land are owned only in part by foreign investors. When the 14.3-million-acre total is adjusted for these partial interests, the total foreign-owned acreage drops to an equivalent of 13.1 million acres.
Maine has more acres owned by foreign persons than any other State. Four companies own 91 percent of the foreign-held acres in Maine, almost all in forest land. Two of these companies are Canadian, one French, and the other a U.S. corporation that is partially Canadian owned. Foreign holdings in Maine account for 17 percent of Maine's privately owned agricultural land and 21 percent of all U.S. foreign-owned agricultural land.
Maine acreage aside, the foreign holdings are concentrated in the South and West, with each of those areas containing 32 percent of the national total.
Foreign owners apparently are not taking purchased agricultural land out of production, as no change in intended use was reported for 94 percent of the acres.
Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has remained relatively steady since 1981, slightly above or below 1 percent of all privately owned agricultural land in the United States.
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Updated: September 22, 1998
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