Additional restrictions to foreign-owned farmland spark strong debate
JEFFERSON CITY Missouri lawmakers are debating how to limit and track the amount of foreign-owned farmland in the state.
Members of the Missouri House Agriculture Committee considered a bill Tuesday that would require county assessors to track foreign farmland holdings. It would also cap foreign ownership of farmland at the county level to no more than 1% of the total agricultural acreage in each county. Farmland currently owned by foreign entities will not be affected by this change.
State Rep. Don Rone, R-New Madrid, chairman of the committee and sponsor of the bill, said he is advocating for grain farmers in the Bootheel who anticipate anti-competitive market conditions due to a pending foreign acquisition of 17 grain elevators along the Mississippi River.