H.R. 1629: Farmland Security Act of 2025

This bill, known as the Farmland Security Act of 2025, aims to amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 in several significant ways. The main focus of the bill is to strengthen regulations regarding foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land and increase the penalties for non-compliance.

Key Provisions

1. Increased Civil Penalties

The bill proposes to remove the existing cap on civil penalties for foreign entities that fail to comply with the requirements of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act. Specifically:

• The current law limits the amount of penalties that can be imposed.
• Under the new provision, if a foreign-owned entity is found to be operating as a "shell corporation" (defined as corporations with no substantial operations), they could face a civil penalty equal to 100% of the fair market value of the agricultural land involved in the violation.
• If a shell corporation corrects any filing issues within 60 days of being notified, they will not be subject to the civil penalty.

2. Enhanced Investigative Actions

The bill mandates improved investigative measures, including:

• An annual compliance audit conducted by the Secretary of Agriculture on at least 10% of the reports submitted under the current law to ensure their accuracy.
• Annual training for state and county personnel to help them identify agricultural land that requires foreign investment reporting but has not been reported.

3. Reporting Requirements

New reporting obligations are introduced under this bill:

• The Secretary of Agriculture must provide reports to Congress describing the results of new research on the impact of foreign investment on U.S. agriculture.
• Research topics include the effects of foreign investment on family farms, rural communities, and the domestic food supply, as well as trends in foreign-owned shell corporations purchasing agricultural land.

4. Appropriations

The bill authorizes appropriations of $2 million annually for each fiscal year from 2025 to 2030 to support the implementation of the Act.

Relevant Companies

• None found