New Bill Tightens Rules on Foreign Purchase of U.S. Farmland Near Sensitive Sites

Alright, let's talk about who gets to buy American farmland. A new bill called the "Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act" (or PASS Act, because acronyms) aims to put stricter controls on foreign entities buying agricultural land, especially if they're linked to specific governments or buying near sensitive U.S. locations.

Drawing Lines in the Dirt: What's Changing?

This bill basically tells the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) – the group that vets foreign deals for national security risks – to pay way closer attention to agricultural land transactions. If the Secretary of Agriculture flags a potential deal involving a foreign person buying U.S. farmland, CFIUS now has to review it.

Here's the big one: The bill outright prohibits land purchases or leases by what it calls a "covered foreign person" if the land is near certain U.S. military bases or sensitive government facilities, or if the deal gives them control over a U.S. agricultural business. Who's a "covered foreign person"? According to the bill, it's someone acting on behalf of, or directed by, the governments of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea (specifically, countries designated as foreign adversaries). Importantly, this doesn't apply to U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

Think about a farmer looking to sell land that happens to border a military installation. Under this bill, if a potential buyer has ties (even indirect ones) to one of those listed governments, the deal could be blocked by the President unless the parties back out first.

The Fine Print: Waivers, Rules, and Rollout

There's an escape hatch: The President can waive this prohibition on a case-by-case basis if it's deemed in the "U.S. national interest," but they have to tell Congress why. This adds a layer of executive discretion to the process.

The bill also formally adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the list of officials feeding information to CFIUS for these types of reviews, recognizing that ag expertise is needed.

What counts as "agriculture"? The bill points to the definition used in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is pretty broad, covering farming in all its branches, including raising livestock, producing crops, forestry, and related practices.

Don't expect immediate changes. Government agencies involved have to figure out the specific regulations to make this work, and those rules need to be finalized within a year of the bill's enactment. The new restrictions kick in 30 days after those regulations are set.

Real-World Ripples: What Does This Mean?

The goal here is clearly national security – preventing potential adversaries from owning land near sensitive sites or controlling chunks of the U.S. food supply chain. For landowners near military or key government facilities, the pool of potential buyers might shrink if this passes.

For U.S. agricultural businesses, especially those in cutting-edge areas like agricultural biotechnology mentioned in the bill, seeking investment from sources linked to the specified countries could become much harder, potentially impacting growth or innovation funding. The key challenge will be in the details – how exactly will "near" a sensitive facility be defined in the regulations? How strictly will connections to foreign governments be interpreted? These definitions will shape the real impact on land deals and agricultural investment across the country.