Foreign investors must report U.S. agricultural land holdings

Foreign investors with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, according to Darvin L. Collins, County Executive Director of the Houston/ Leon/Madison County Farm Service Agency.

“Any foreign person who acquires or transfers any interest, other than a security interest, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction,” said Collins.

Foreign investors must file Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reports with the Farm Service Agency County Office that maintains reports for the county where the land is located.

“Failure to file a report, filing a late report or filing an inaccurate report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land,” said Collins.

For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts total 10 acres or more.

Disclosure reports are also required when there are changes in land use. For example, reports are required when land use changes from non-agricultural to agricultural or from agricultural to non-agricultural.

When the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act was signed into law in 1978, the reporting requirement was adopted as part of the same legislation. Data gained from these disclosures is used in the preparation of periodic reports to the President and Congress concerning the effect of such holdings upon family farms and rural communities in the United States.