Farm Security Meets National Defense: USDA's CFIUS Move
How the National Farm Security Action Plan Protects Regenerative Agriculture from Foreign Threats
The USDA now sits on the national security committee CFIUS, reviewing foreign farmland purchases with a 900% increase in oversight activity.
What You'll Learn in This Article:
How USDA gained authority to block foreign adversary farmland purchases
Why regenerative farmers should care about CFIUS integration
The new anonymous reporting system for suspicious land deals
Real-time tracking of foreign farmland ownership by county
What "countries of concern" mean for agricultural investments
Something extraordinary happened on July 10, 2025. For the first time in American history, the Secretary of Agriculture signed a document that officially made farm security a matter of national defense. This wasn't just bureaucratic shuffling—it was a seismic shift in how we protect our food sovereignty.
Secretary Brooke Rollins put pen to paper on a Memorandum of Understanding with the Treasury Department, formally integrating USDA into CFIUS—the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. If you're a regenerative farmer, rancher, or anyone who cares about who controls our soil, this changes everything.
The 900% Surge in Farm Security Oversight
Here's what should make you sit up straight: USDA's review of foreign agricultural transactions exploded from less than 50 cases annually to over 500 cases in just three years. That's not a typo—it's a 900% increase.
This surge tells us something critical: foreign entities, particularly from what the government calls "countries of concern" (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea), have been aggressively pursuing American farmland. And they've been doing it under the radar—until now.
Key Fact: The integration was triggered by the Fufeng Group case, where a Chinese company purchased 370 acres just 12 miles from a North Dakota Air Force base. CFIUS couldn't stop it because they lacked jurisdiction. That loophole just closed.
What This Means for Regenerative Agriculture
For those of us committed to regenerative practices, this integration carries profound implications:
1. Protection of Soil Sovereignty When foreign adversaries control farmland, they control more than acreage—they control the very foundation of regenerative agriculture. These entities often prioritize extraction over regeneration, viewing soil as a commodity rather than a living ecosystem.
2. Preservation of Local Food Systems Regenerative agriculture thrives on local relationships and regional food security. Foreign ownership, particularly by adversarial nations, threatens these community-based systems by potentially redirecting production overseas or converting land to industrial monocultures.
3. Safeguarding Agricultural Innovation The new CFIUS scope includes "agriculture biotechnology"—protecting not just land but the innovations in soil biology, seed sovereignty, and regenerative techniques that American farmers have pioneered.
The New Tools in Our Arsenal
USDA didn't just get a seat at the table—they got real teeth:
Real-Time Foreign Ownership Map
On the same day as the MOU signing, USDA launched a publicly searchable Foreign Farm Land Purchases map. You can now see, county by county, which foreign entities own land in your area. This transparency is revolutionary.
Anonymous Reporting Portal
See something suspicious? There's now an anonymous portal where farmers and rural communities can report:
Possible false AFIDA (Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act) filings
Claims of foreign influence on policymakers regarding land purchases
Suspicious business dealings in agricultural supply chains
Proactive Blocking Authority
Perhaps most significantly, USDA can now proactively notify CFIUS about transactions that pose risks—before they're completed. This early warning system means problematic purchases can be stopped in their tracks.
The Resource Challenge We Must Address
Here's the sobering reality: despite this massive expansion of responsibility, USDA has only one staff member fully dedicated to CFIUS reviews. One person. Managing a 900% increase in workload.
This understaffing represents a critical vulnerability. The department has requested $1 million and three additional full-time positions, but until Congress acts, our farm security infrastructure remains dangerously thin.
What Regenerative Farmers Should Do Now
1. Know Your Neighbors Use the new Foreign Farm Land Purchases map to understand who owns land in your county. Knowledge is the first line of defense.
2. Report Suspicious Activity If you see unusual land transactions, especially near critical infrastructure or involving shell companies, use the anonymous reporting portal. Your local knowledge is invaluable.
3. Engage Your Representatives The Agricultural Risk Review Act (H.R. 1713) would make USDA's CFIUS membership permanent and expand protections. Contact your representatives to support it.
4. Strengthen Local Networks Build strong relationships with neighboring farms and local officials. A connected rural community is harder to infiltrate and easier to defend.
The Bigger Picture: Farm Security as National Security
This integration represents a fundamental acknowledgment: whoever controls our land controls our food, and whoever controls our food controls our future. For regenerative agriculture, this couldn't be more critical.
Foreign adversaries don't share our commitment to soil health, biodiversity, or community resilience. They see farmland as a strategic asset for extraction, not regeneration. By integrating agricultural oversight with national security infrastructure, we're finally treating this threat with the seriousness it deserves.
But this is just the beginning. The success of this integration depends on adequate resources, sustained political will, and most importantly, engaged rural communities who understand that protecting our land means protecting our sovereignty.
FAQs
Q: How can I check if foreign entities own land in my area? A: Visit USDA's new Foreign Farm Land Purchases map, which shows foreign ownership by county. The map is publicly searchable and updated regularly, though USDA is working to make the data more real-time and precise.
Q: What qualifies as a "country of concern" under this new system? A: The regulation specifically identifies China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea as countries of concern. USDA plans to pursue legislative action to prohibit nationals from these countries from purchasing or controlling American farmland.
Q: Can individual farmers really make a difference in national security reviews? A: Absolutely. The new anonymous reporting portal allows farmers to flag suspicious transactions or foreign influence attempts. Your local knowledge of land sales, unusual business arrangements, or pressure on policymakers provides critical intelligence that Washington bureaucrats might miss.
Q: What happens if a foreign entity from a "country of concern" already owns farmland? A: While the new measures primarily target future transactions, existing problematic ownership is being reviewed. USDA is working with Congress on legislation that could force divestiture of farmland owned by adversarial foreign nationals.
The integration of USDA with CFIUS marks a turning point in American agricultural sovereignty. For too long, we've treated farmland as just another commodity in the global marketplace. Now, finally, we're recognizing it for what it truly is: the foundation of our national security and the bedrock of regenerative agriculture's future.
The question isn't whether this integration was necessary—the 900% surge in cases proves it was overdue. The question is whether we'll provide the resources and political will to make it work.
Our soil, our food sovereignty, and our regenerative future depend on it.