US bans farmland purchases by Chinese nationals and foreign adversaries

Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries will no longer be allowed to purchase United States farmland

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Tuesday, citing national security concerns. According to the agency, China owns more than 265,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land

American agriculture is not just about feeding our families, but about protecting our nation

and standing up to foreign adversaries who are buying our farmland, stealing our research

and creating dangerous vulnerabilities in the very systems that sustain us. Rollins announced the Trump administration's new National Farm Security Action Plan

alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. Officials say the new action plan aims to secure and protect American farmland

enhance agricultural supply chain resilience, protect U.S. nutrition from fraud, abuse, and foreign adversaries, enhance research security

evaluate USDA programs to ensure America First policies, safeguard plant and animal health

and protect critical infrastructure Rollins said the USDA has canceled seven agreements connected to foreign countries of concern for national security or policy reasons and that the agency will be canceling more in the future The USDA plans to make it easier for the public to see who owns U farmland with a focus

on improving transparency around foreign ownership. Officials also say that they aim to work closely with lawmakers at both the state and federal

levels to prevent foreign adversaries from purchasing American farmland. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem spoke about how she was a farmer long before joining President Trump's cabinet

She said when she was the governor of South Dakota, she signed a bill into law restricting foreign ownership of farmland in the state, recognizing that it could be a national security threat

And I recognize that food policy is national security policy. A country who cannot feed itself, cannot take care of itself and cannot provide for itself is not secure

and that we have to be able to feed ourselves to make sure that no other country ever controls us

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also commented, saying that the Pentagon will monitor who owns land near U.S. military bases across the country

No longer can foreign adversaries assume we're not watching and we're not paying attention and we're not doing something about it because we are

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan. If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com