Northrup is a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, which is owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company. Concern has been growing in many states about foreign ownership of farmland. Prior to this year, 14 states had laws prohibiting or restricting foreign ownership and investments in private farmland. Under the Arkansas law, if a company doesn’t divest of the land, the state can take action in court. The surge in state laws targeting land ownership by certain foreigners represents a “a political flashpoint” that Brown says stems from some highly publicized cases of Chinese-connected entities purchasing land near military bases in North Dakota and Texas.

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Persons: Tim Griffin, Northrup King, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Northrup, ” Sanders, Griffin, Syngenta, Micah Brown, ”, Brown, David Lieb Organizations: —, Northrup King Seed, Republican, GOP Gov, Syngenta, China National Chemical Company, National Agriculture Law Center, University of Arkansas, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Associated Locations: — Arkansas, Craighead County, Arkansas, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, North Dakota, Texas, Jefferson City , Missouri