Indiana bars China, Russia from owning Hoosier farmland with new law

UPDATE: Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1183 into law on Friday, March 15, 2024.

Foreign adversaries such as China and Russia would be barred from owning or leasing farmland in Indiana if a bill before the General Assembly is approved — a proposal backed by U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and U.S. Rep. Jim Banks.

Braun and Banks have written a letter to state lawmakers, and shared exclusively with IndyStar, showing “full support” of the proposed Indiana legislation. House Bill 1183, authored by Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rennselaer, “provides the serious response needed to protect Hoosier agricultural land,” the letter says.

The issue is a growing concern across the country: The amount of foreign-owned land has increased by 40% since 2016, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now, dozens of states in addition to Indiana — as well as Braun and other members of Congress — are considering how to limit the practice.

Indiana was one of the first states in 2022 to pass legislation related to foreign ownership, but Culp’s bill takes it a step further.

“That earlier bill had a lot of exemptions and holes to the bill, so I felt we needed to tighten that up and be more specific,” he told IndyStar. “There’s really very little tolerance for any foreign investment in Indiana farmland if this bill passes.”

More specifically, his bill creates a blanket prohibition of individuals or entities associated with any foreign adversaries from owning or leasing ag land in the state in the future. It also bans ownership of mineral, water and riparian rights on ag land. Foreign adversaries include China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.

Braun said he and his team were able to help in drafting HB 1183 for Hoosiers' security.

“We can’t let our adversaries buy up America one acre at a time: Our food supply and national security depends on it,” Braun told IndyStar. “I encourage the General Assembly to pass Rep. Culp’s important bill without delay.”

Other co-signers from the Indiana congressional delegation include Sen. Todd Young and Reps. Greg Pence, Victoria Spartz, Rudy Yakym, James Baird, Erin Houchin and Larry Bucschon.

According to the 2021 report from the Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, the latest available, a little more than 2% of Indiana farmland is held by foreign entities. That’s about 430,000 acres.

That puts Indiana right in the middle of the pack — roughly 24 states have higher percentages of foreign ownership, according to the data. Nationally, 3.1% of all ag land is held by foreign entities. That equates to just over 40 million acres of U.S. farmland, the USDA reports.

That number has been growing in recent years by close to 3 million acres, on average, each year. For comparison, the entire state of Indiana covers a little more than 23 million acres, including about 16 million acres of farmland.

Agriculture in Indiana is a $35 billion dollar industry annually, and some state lawmakers feel it is important to protect it. A previous law approved in 2022 prohibited foreign entities from owning land in Indiana, but with exceptions based on the amount of land or type of operation. That law, SEA 388, also largely targeted Russian business and citizens from buying land in the state, in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That aspect had a one-year moratorium that expired last summer.

That 2022 law’s author, Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, declined to comment on Culp’s bill given that it still is in the House. If the bill makes it to the Senate, it likely would be assigned to the Senate Agriculture Committee which Leising chairs.

Foreign-owned land growth has been the most significant in Midwestern states. Some cases of concern have received recent attention, including those involving Chinese companies buying land near Air Force bases in North Dakota and Texas.

Hunting: Bill to approve bobcat hunting in Indiana draws many comments, passes out of committee

Despite the attention on these examples, most foreign entities purchasing land are European or Canadian companies interested in renewable energy or timberland, for example.

That’s why Culp said his bill is specific to the countries on the U.S. foreign adversary list, as determined by the U.S. State Department.

“If a country is opposed to the U.S., why would we let them in and purchase our natural resources?” he said.

Culp appreciates the support of the Indiana Congressional Delegation with their letter: “They obviously recognize the concern and need for some kind of swift action,” he said, “and I think that’s why they are weighing in.”

Beyond preventing foreign ownership of ag land, another part of the problem is tracking ownership.

A report released last week from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found the federal government needs to be doing more when it comes to tracking land ownership by foreign companies and individuals.

Federal records on foreign-owned agricultural land include errors, lack details on subsidiaries and secondary owners, and are not provided to other government agencies in a timely manner, the GAO audit found.

That’s why Braun is also hoping to tackle this issue at the national level. On Thursday, Braun was joined by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, and others in introducing a bill to help collect more and better information about foreign ownership of farmland across the country.

The bill was prompted by the concerns raised in GAO report as well as recommendations offered.

At the state level, Culp’s bill is scheduled for a hearing Monday morning in the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. The chair of that committee, Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron, also has signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill.

Culp points out that while Aylesworth is from a rural community, the other co-sponsors are from Hamilton County and Indianapolis. He said that shows his bill touches on all sectors and all areas of the state.

“This isn’t an ag bill or a farm bill,” Culp said. “It’s a national and food security bill.”

Culp said he is optimistic about the bill’s path forward, especially with the Congressional support.

Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at 317-444-6129 or email at sarah.bowman@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @IndyStarSarah. Connect with IndyStar’s environmental reporters: Join The Scrub on Facebook.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana bars China, Russia from owning Hoosier farmland with new law