The trend worries some U.S. lawmakers who fear corporate interest will make agricultural land unaffordable for the next generation of farmers.
Investment firm acquisitions are also outpacing farmland purchases by foreign entities, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Lawmakers debated this year whether to curtail foreign farmland ownership, concerned that adversaries might buy land to exert political influence.
"If the next generation isn’t enticed to come back to the farm," he said, "then who’s going to own that land?"
About 60% of U.S. farmland is farmer-owned and -operated, with the rest owned by non-farmer operators including individuals, trusts, and corporations, according to USDA.
Persons:
Nuveen, Paul Schadegg, Tim Gibbons, isn’t, It’s, David Gladstone, Gladstone, Cory Booker, Bruce Sherrick, Leah Douglas, Richard Valdmanis, Anna Driver
Organizations:
Investment, Reuters, Manulife Investment Management, National Council of Real Estate Investment, United Nations, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Lawmakers, Senate, National Defense, Farmers National Company, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, USDA, Gladstone, Agriculture Committee, TIAA, Research, University of Illinois, Thomson
Locations:
U.S, United, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Missouri