House Republicans are demanding records from the National FFA Organization about its partnership with Syngenta Group, arguing the agribusiness’ Chinese state ownership and the youth group’s diversity initiatives could jeopardize FFA’s mission — and, potentially, its tax-exempt status.
In a Feb. 3 letter to National FFA CEO Scott Stump, Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri, Oversight Subcommittee Chairman David Schweikert of Arizona, and Rep. Tracey Mann of Kansas, a co-chair of the Congressional FFA Caucus, said they were alarmed by “concerning features” of the organization’s “programs and operations,” including a relationship with what they called “Chinese Communist Party (‘CCP’) controlled Syngenta Group” and a push to prioritize “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts.”
The lawmakers framed the inquiry as part of the Ways and Means Committee’s jurisdiction over tax-exempt entities, noting the National FFA operates as a 501(c)(3). They pointed to IRS rules and longstanding court precedent, writing that if “more than an insubstantial part” of an organization’s activities falls outside exempt purposes, it is not operated “exclusively” for those purposes, and quoting the Supreme Court: “the presence of a single [nonexempt] purpose, if substantial in nature, will destroy the exemption.”
National FFA’s stated mission is to help young people “achieve leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education,” the letter said, adding that the organization guides over one million student members in more than nine thousand chapters nationwide. The lawmakers argued that “working with our nation’s foreign adversaries and prioritizing woke policies over your mission raises serious concerns” about compliance with tax-exempt requirements.
At the center of the letter is Syngenta’s ownership and U.S. national-security concerns about farmland and agricultural influence. The lawmakers said Syngenta became a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Chemical Corp., known as ChemChina, after the 2017 acquisition, and described Sinochem Holdings (formed through a 2021 merger) as a Chinese state-owned conglomerate with major interests in agrochemicals.
Syngenta has had a 40-year-long relationship with the National FFA and is a large sponsor of the National FFA Convention & Expo. In 2022, FFA and Syngenta launched a major national DEI strategy, which included the development of the inaugural Executive in Residence program geared toward serving as an internal consultant to assess, design, develop, and execute this strategy.
“This partnership is part of a broader organizational transformation,” Stump said at the time. “We want to ensure our current and future members feel welcomed, and FFA is indeed a place for all to feel valued and contribute to our mission.”
The lawmakers also tied their concerns to the Trump administration’s agriculture-security agenda. Citing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Farm Security Action Plan, the lawmakers wrote: “Farm security is national security.”
The letter asserted that Syngenta’s extensive ties to the organization could create a credible risk that CCP messaging and propaganda could infiltrate FFA education and guidance, calling that a direct threat to our Nation’s farm and food security.
The lawmakers also criticized National FFA’s DEI work saying the organization has rebranded its DEI program to “Belonging and Engagement” and highlighted a 2022 announcement that National FFA and Syngenta would partner on an Executive in Residence to help lay the foundation for a national equity, diversity and inclusion strategy.
The committee and caucus asked National FFA to respond by Feb. 17 with documents and information about agreements with Syngenta, Syngenta employees serving in FFA leadership roles, DEI recommendations “created, recommended, or reviewed by Syngenta since 2020,” and the “dollar amount of contributions” received from Syngenta or related entities.
