“Our state’s fertile soil and unmatched production capacity make us a natural target for this strategy. Our farm families produce 10 percent of the nation’s food supply and Iowa ranks as America’s top producer of biofuels. That makes us a natural leader in the race to stave off the evolving threat to American agriculture. When Iowa speaks, the country listens. And with this bill our message is unmistakable: American soil belongs in American hands.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 514,000 acres of Iowa farmland are held by foreign investors. This land accounts for 1.6 percent of the state’s privately held agricultural lands. Currently, the largest owners of foreign land in Iowa are Canada (200,000 acres) and Italy (104,000 acres). Syngenta Seeds is the only Chinese government-affiliated business that owned Iowa land as of 2022, with 265 acres in Boone County.
