Trenton, New Jersey. Citing the need to protect farmland for local use and guarantee food security, a proposed measure in the New Jersey Legislature seeks to ban foreign governments and people from buying or owning agricultural or horticultural land in the state.
Following the bill’s passage, foreign organizations would no longer be permitted to purchase farms. Any foreign government or individual in possession of such land would have to sell it or provide it to a U.S.-based person or organization within five years. A deed of easement would be included in the transactions to preserve the land’s integrity and guarantee that it would continue to be used for horticultural or agricultural purposes.
There are just a few exceptions permitted by the bill. Foreign organizations that legally purchase farmland through foreclosure, debt collection, or other legal procedures would have to sell the land after two years, provided that the land is still utilized for farming. Likewise, the general ownership limitation would not apply to land obtained as collateral or by inheritance.
The bill also requires the New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture to report annually on the state’s farmland ownership by foreigners. The amount of land owned by foreign entities, ownership trends over the last ten years, the top foreign nationalities that own farms, and the land’s use over the last five years would all be included in these reports. In order to support the secretary’s efforts, state and local agencies would need to supply pertinent data.
Foreign governments or citizens of those nations would not be subject to any sections of the measure that are in contradiction with U.S. treaties governing foreign ownership.
The legislation’s supporters contend that restricting foreign ownership guarantees that farmland in New Jersey stays in the hands of local people and organizations, giving domestic food production priority and lowering the possibility of foreign influence on essential resources. The law has the potential to drastically change the purchasing and selling of agricultural assets throughout the state if it is passed.
As states throughout the United States struggle with worries about foreign investment in agricultural land and its effects on local control and food security, the measure is a part of a growing national trend.
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