For recent acquisitions, purchase price generally will be close to, but not necessarily the same’as, current.
value. As time passes, purchase price becomes a poor indicator of current value. For'this reason, reported
current value by date of acquisition was' adjusted to January 1997 forall years prior to 1997 (table 6). The’
total adjusted current value indicates a 20- -percent increase.from the reported current. value. ‘The adjustment’
factor: was based on the national average ‘change i in farmland value over time. The adjusted current values are
not presented as absolute values for the foreign-owned land in this report but should be'viewed as
approximations of change in value. |
The data in table 6 are not intended in any manner to indicate trends over time in-the level of acduisitions by
foreign persons. (See table 40 for trends|data.) Acreage owned in the years listed is the total amount of land
that- was reported purchased during that year and which remained foreign owned as of December 31, 1997.
Because land is disposed of by foreign owners or there are changes in status from foreign to nonforeign or
from agricultural to nonagricultural, acreage amounts in each year are reduced by these land dispositions or
status changes. |

Table 6--Value of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings,

by: ‘date of acquisition, December 31, 1997

| . Acres with Acres with
. = | purchase Purchase non- ‘
Date . Parcels Acres price price ' purchase Non Purchase
acquired (Number) | (Number) | reported (1,000 - price (i bo dollars)
| (Number) dollars) reported ’
| (Number)
1997 — 346 - 515,005 515,005 431,886 O 0
1996 526 635,628 634,264 401,638 1,364 2,871
1995. 561 493,340 474,775 261,061 18,565 25,597
1994 411 | 1,150,501 176,212 185,294 974,289 157,507
1993 482 600,410 415,016 217,827 185,394 57,762
1992 551 510,299 319,864 330,980 190,435 65,955
1991 557 280,925 247,692 326,239 33,233 61,533
1990 797 871,098 714,587 551,261 156,511 160,023
1989 582 768,482 688,298 665,610. 80,184 77,351
1988 558 941,147 766,806 641,153 174,341 64,360
1987 420 423,529 331,557 265,405. 91,972 60,373
1986 482 456,270 249,295 296,818 206,975 176,345
1985 312 337,950 238,134 300,565. 99,816 41,221
1984 410 447,647 393,378 339,320 54,269 140,343
1983 486 262,937 239,288 346,438 23,649 19,457
1982 621 512,485 315,240 439,894 197,245 66,884
1981 1,173 936,665 795,805 734,215 140,860 77,856
1980 , 926 568,659 540,643 716,660 28,016 . 43,646
1979 1,025 819,870 776,196 1,046,349 43,674 25,926
1978 852 436,510 429,186 422,942 7,324 6,417
1977 458 350,704 340,988 293,929 9,716 5,639
1976 356 403,553 330,565 177,985 72,988 9,295
1975 213 165,226 162,387 92,095 2,839 1,574
1970-74 664 429,436 389,680 245,432 39,756 10,633
1960-69 427 473,310 384,667. _ 77,789 88,643. 8,391
Before 1960 219 544,193 464,655 24,648 79,538 2,541
Total 14,415 14,335,779 11,334,183 9,833,433 3,001,596 1,359,500

Coritinued---



Purchase Price and Value of Acquisitions. Corporations accounted for 90 percent of the total of summed
purchase prices and summed nonpurchase prices (estimated values) for new acquisitions (table 22). The average
per acre purchase price and nonpurchase price (estimated value) is lowest for corporations, $783; followed by
partnerships, $1,500; estates, $1,653; individuals, $1,745; and trusts, $3,294. The average per acre purchase
price for “others” is $4,775.

Equity is frequently used to measure net foreign investment transfer. To approximate equity, debt was subtracted
from current value for all reports that provided information on debt and current value. The 352 reports providing
information on debt ($12,836,000) and current value ($432,721 ,000) resulted in an equity figure of
$419,885,000 (table 22). These figures reveal an equity figure of 97 percent in relation to current value.

Country of Origin. U.S. corporations with foreign interests acquired 96 percent of the acreage. Foreign persons
not affiliated with a U.S. corporation acquired the remaining 4 percent (table 23). Foreign persons from Canada |
acquired 391,879 acres, 76 percent of the total.

Eighty-three percent of the acres acquired during 1997 were in the South, where foreign entities from Canada
accounted for 85 percent of the acquisitions (table 24). In the Midwest, foreign entities fromi Germany acquired
56 percent of the acres. In the Northeast, persons from Canada acquired 87 percent of the acres. :

Interest in Land

Eighty-seven percent of parcels, accounting for 95 percent of the reported acres, were acquired in fee interest
whole (table 25).

Method of Acquisition

Cash represented 66 percent of all parcels purchased, covering 88 percent of the acres (table 25). In contrast, 12
percent of the parcels, covering 2 percent of the acres, were acquired by “other method only.”

Table 19--U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by type of foreign owner,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
Parcels with
Owner Owners Parcels Acres partial Acreage
reporting reported interests equivalent 2

reported '
Individual 43 50 6,053 4 5,872
Corporation 103 265 497,803 17 484,675
Partnership 16 20 6,421 2 6,151
Estate 1 4 464 i) 464
Trust 1 1 119 0 119
Other 6 12 4,543 0 4,543
Total 170 352 515,403 23 501,824

* Parcels with partial interests are parcels owned only in part by the foreign investor; that is, a percentage interest
less than 100 percent.

? Acreage equivalent equals the total acreage reported multiplied by the percentage held by the foreign owner.


Table 13--Landholdings of foreign owners that consist.only of U.S. forest or only of U.S.
forest and’ other nonagricultural land, by country of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997---Continued

(Number)
Country Owners Parcels Acres

US/China 1 3 1,068
US/Denmark 4 4 5,176
US/Dominican Republic 1 1 589
US/Finland 2 79 194,982
US/France 19 153 994,287
US/Germany 39 624 162,685
US/Greece 1 1 147
US/Ireland 1 4 1,612
US/Japan 16 23 72,460
US/Kenya 1 1 32
US/Kuwait 1 1 772
‘US/Liberia 4 4 3,520
US/Liechtenstein 2 3 6,648
US/Luxembourg 3 28 18,256
US/Mexico 1 1 63
US/Netherlands 7 8 8,207
US/Netherlands Antilles 8 13 1,673
US/Norway 1 1 25
US/Panama 5 6 2,328
US/Philippines 3 3 796
US/Qatar 1 1 219
US/Saudi Arabia 5 8 3,462
US/Singapore 1 7 91,922
US/Sweden 1 1 2,811
US/Switzerland 17 31 57,904
US/Taiwan 3 3 714
US/United Kingdom 62 307 473,312
US/Uruguay 1 1 77
US/Venezuela 5 6 3,192
US/multiple 5 15 161,391
US/third tier 4 17 73,792

Subtotal ? 298 1,918 3,772,064
Total 965 3,058 5,729,032

* Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.


Land Use |

|
Of the acres acquired in 1997, 7 percent were in pasture, 82 percent in forest, 1 percent in other agriculture, 9
percent in cropland; and 1 percent in nonagriculture (table 26). Foreign entities associated with Japan, France,
Switzerland, and Germany acquired 61 percent of the cropland. U.S./United Kingdom corporations acquired 73
percent of pastureland. U.S./Canada corporations acquiréd 91 percent of the forest land.

Separating data on reports for only forest or only forest and other nonagricultural land shows that 63 percent of the
acquisitions (acres) are in these two land-use categories. Alabama had 80 percent of these acquisitions. Maine,
Georgia, and Florida accounted for another 17 percent (table 27).

Table 25--Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land acquisitions,
by type of interest, method of acquisition, and owner representative,
paney 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
|
Item | Parcels reported Acres
Interest: | :
Fee interest whole | 305 489,677
Fee interest partial ' | 23 20,452
Purchase contract | 21 4,603
Other | 3 671
Total | 352 515,403
Method of acquisition:
Cash only 231 452,418
Credit only + 37 12,170
Trade only 23 28,996
Gift/inheritance only 7 1,721
Foreclosure only 5 8,497
Other method only 43 9,540
Cash & credit only 4 1,800
Noncash combinations 2 261
Total 352 515,403
Owner representative:
Attorney 84 31,570
Manager 84 40,738
Agent 48 391,506 )
Other 92 42,722
No report 44 8,867
Total 352 ; 515,403
' The fee interest partial is used for parcels owned only in part by the foreign investor; that is, a percentage
interest less than 100 percent.

36



The data in this report should be viewed in light of the foregoing caveats and those accompanying the tables.
Reporters’ errors must also be considered in reviewing this study. Resulting data deficiencies are noted where
appropriate. The'"No report" category in the tables means that a response to the particular question was not
made. Note that the acreage figures reported do not mean that they are wholly owned by foreign investors. Of -
the 14.3 million foreign-owned acres, 61)percent are owned by U.S. corporations in which there is a

significant interest or substantial control by foreign persons (table 8). In addition, a number of acres are

owned only in part by foreign investors. Table 2 gives the acre equivalent for foreign owners reporting partial
interests in real estate. Partial interests reduce the 14.3 million to an equivalent of 13.1 million acres.

|

i .
Analysis of Data Reported Under the Act

{

|
Data in this section are derived from the 14,415 reports filed by foreign persons who held land as of
December 31, 1997. These report forms! account for 14,335,779 acres. of all U.S. agricultural land. This is an
increase of 199,419 acres from the 14,136,360 acres foreign owners reported owning as of the end of 1996. 3
This 199,419-acre increase is less than the 515,403 acres acquired during 1997, as reported in the
"Acquisitions" section. Differences are attributable to sizeable transactions made prior to, but reported after,
the December 31, 1996, closing date of last year’s report, and to several large parcels that were both acquired
and disposed of during 1997. |

Holdings

Concentration of Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land
]

Foreign persons have reported acreage holdings in all 5O States and Puerto Rico (table 1 and fig. 1). Except
for Maine (described below), only a small percentage of privately held agricultural land in the other 49 States
is foreign owned (table 1 and fig. 2). Maine acreage aside, foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land is
concentrated in the South’and West, each containing 32 percent of all reported foreign holdings of U.S.
agricultural land (table 9).

Maine has the largest amount of foreignjowned U.S. agricultural land, 3,037,198 acres, or 17 percent of the
privately owned agricultural land in the State and approximately 21 percent of the reported foreign-owned
agricultural land in the United States. Most of the foreign-owned agricultural land in Maine is 2,767,023
acres of (mostly) timber land owned by four companies. One company owns various percentage interests in
1,064,586 acres, another company owns) 266,023 acres, a third company owns 914,602 acres, and the fourth
company, accounting for 521,812 acres, |is a U.S. corporation with substantial foreign interests.

Hawaii, Nevada, and Arizona have the next largest proportions of reported foreign-owned agricultural land to
all privately owned agricultural land in their States. Texas has the second largest amount of foreign-owned
acreage, 1,209,759 acres, but that represents only 0.8 percent of the privately owned agricultural land in
Texas.

3 The 14,464,270 acres reported in last year’s report overstated the amount of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land
because of late filings and filing errors. The 1996 figure has been adjusted downward to 14,136,360 acres.

4



- to.
Table 38--Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by country of foreign owner and U.S. region,
| January 1 - December 31, 1997

| (Number) ,
|
South West Northeast Midwest
Parcels | Parcels Parcels Parcels
Country reported jAcres reported Acres reported Acres reported Acres
|
Austria ie) | 0 te) 0 i) te) 1 320
Bermuda te) | te) 2 55 te) ie) 0 0
British Virgin Islands 1 | 363 0 0 0 te) 0 0
Canada o | 0 12 2,168 26 3,391 3 1,603
Cayman Islands 1 | 2,060 2 390 ie) te) 0 0
Egypt 1 | 605 0 () 0) 0 i) 0
France le) 0 te) O 0 0 3 385
Germany 16 3,268 1 1,100 2 1 5 1,569
Hong Kong 2 1,237 “0 i) i?) i} 0 0
Italy Oo | 0 0 0 ie) 0 6 221
Japan 5 230 1 2 0 0 5 940
Korea (South) 1 159 0 i) 0 0 0 i)
Liechtenstein ie) 0 O i) 1 57 0 Oo
Netherlands o |} ) “6 1,320 te) ie) te) 0
Netherlands Antilles 1 | 131 O 0 te) te) 0. 0
Pakistan ie) te) 1 80 te) 0 i) 0
Switzerland 4 990 aa 38 1 23 1 3
United Kingdom 4 417 Oo 0 1 44 4 1,779
Venezuela le) ie) 0 0 1 208 ie) O
Multiple ie) 0 0 0 1 1,616 1 3
Subtotal ' 36 9,460 26 5,153 33 5,350 29 6,823
US/Australia 0 0 to) to) 0 te) 1 45
US/Austria 4 2,476 0 0 1 111 ie) 0
US/Bahamas 1 197 0 0 ie) 0 i) 1)
US/British Virgin
Islands te) te) 1 640 i) ie} te) +0
US/Canada 8 288 5 2,462 21 232,795 4 199
US/Costa Rica 2 40 0 i) te) 0 te) 0
US/Finland i) ie) id) O° ie) i) 1 40
US/France 0 0 2 915 5 777 0 )
US/Germany 20 1,248 3 274 5 983 42 3,009
US/Hong Kong." - 2 641 0 ie) te) i) le) ie)
US/lreland 2 22 ie) te) ie) O ie) 0)
US/Japan 0 0 13 4,198 le) i) ie) ie)
US/Liechtenstein i) 0 5 2,045 0 i) 0 0
US/Mexico 3 89 9 386 1 3 1 74
US/Netherlands - 1 797 te) i} 0 0 0 ie)
US/Netherlands Antilles 8 5,635 te) ie) oO 0 0 ie)
US/Panama 1 2,864 1 1,056 0 O te) 0
US/Peru 2 344 ie) ie) i) O ie) ie)
US/Philippines 1 1,035 ie) ie) O 0 0 ie)
US/Singapore 1 196 i) i} 0 0 0 te)
US/South Africa le) (0) 3 3,160 (0) 0 0 0
US/Sweden ie) 0 (e) 0 1 107 0 i)
US/Switzerland 9 14,496 4 465 1 493 2 761
US/United Kingdom 18 10,576 9g 1,004 1 1,580 4 69
US/Venezuela 1 89 0 0 le) 0 te) 0
US/multiple 1 230 0 i) 0 ie) 0) 1)
Subtotal ? 85 41,263 55 16,605 36 236,849 52 4,197
Total all
land dispositions 121 50,723 81 21,758 69. . 242,199 81 11,020

‘ Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.

46



Country of Origin. Foreign entities from|Canada disposed of 75 percent of the acreage, consisting primarily of
acreage in the Northeast (tables 37 and 38). The Northeast had 74 percent of the acres disposed (table 38).
Foreign entities from Switzerland and the U.K. together disposed of 52 percent of the acreage in the South.
Foreign persons from Canada, Japan, and South Africa accounted for'55 percent of the dispositions in the West.
German entities disposed of 42 percent of the disposéd acres in'the Midwest.

Land Use |

Twelve percent of acres disposed were cropland, 3 percent pasture, 81 percent forest, 2 percent other agriculture,
and 2 percent other nonagriculture (table 39). U.S./Japan, U.S./Switzerland,U.S./Netherlands Antilles,
andU.S./Panama corporations disposed of 48 percent of the cropland; Germany and Swiss entities disposed of 37
percent of the pasture land. Entities associated with Canada, Switzerland, and the U.K. disposed of 95 percent of
the forest land. |

|
Trends . |
|

The data for 1997 are generally biased toward the first part of the year. Data for 1981 through 1996 are generally
more evenly distributed throughout the year (table 40). This has also been the case for current year data in past
AFIDA reports. The reason relates to the AFIDA reporting requirements, which allow persons 90 days to report
their transactions to the U.S. Department lof Agriculture (USDA). Consequently, not all transactions occurring in
the 90 days preceding the closing date of the report are reported to USDA by that date. Some of the bias is also
due to reports that are filed late and/or are incomplete. This means that the 1997 data and, in some cases, data for
prior years are understated and should.be|regarded as preliminary.

Foreign ownership of U.S: agricultural land remained relatively steady from 1981 through 1997--slightly above
or below 1 percent of all privately owned agricultural land in the United States (fig. 3). Most changes were in
forestland, rising from 7.2 million acres in 1981 to 8.1 million in 1984, falling to 6 million in 1989, increasing to
7.3 million in 1991, declining to 6.6 million in 1994, rising to 7.5 million in 1995, and dropping to 6.4 million
by 1996. These changes are mainly due to million-acre-plus transactions by large timber companies. Reviewing
the crop, pasture, and other agriculture figures reveals a steady but relatively small increase in the numbers.
Cropland rose from 1.7 million acres in 1981 to 2.5 million by 1995; pasture, from 2.8 to 4.0 million acres; and
other agriculture, from 0.5 to 0.9 million acres.

Table 36--Dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land,
by size of disposition, January 1 - December 31, 1997

Owners Parcels Selling
Size reporting reported Acres ¢. 000
(Acres) (Number) (Number) (Number) dollars) 1

Less than 20 25 30 205 2,601
20-59 25 32 918 4,326
60-99 10 14 740 3,728
100-299 38 58 6,571 14,867
300-999 41 79 25,131 38,581
1,000 or more 23 139 292,135 55,115
Total 162) 352 325,700 119,218

’ Selling price is value at time of disposition.

44



| .
Table 40--Acquisitions and dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land, by date,
January 1981 - December 1997---Continuéed

Acquisitions . ‘ Dispositions
te Parcels ! Value Parcels Value
Date Acres Acres
reported reported
(Number) | NUE [4,000 dotlars) "| (Number): | (Number | {1000 ,
i
| .
September 4 | 17,779 31,840 45 6,624 13,321
October 69 24,558 58,315 39 5,349 8,730
November 50 | 140,936 29,998 44 15,080 16,914
December 106 | 99,206 67,875 161 41,475 53,524
Total 626 | 830,595 477,096 625 418,037 254,001
|
1988 |
January 74 65,295 72,109 53 26,278 22,633
February 50 | 31,640 24,793 52 60,267 + 46,828
March 57 | 37,658 93,887 102 57,912 49,931
April . 45 | 35,692 29,478 63 266,203 80,047
May , 49 | 71,839 54,241 59 34,967 43,023
June 99 | 149,219 92,492 71 22,395 11,388
July 56 34,313 78,579 61 13,705 25,804
August 58 349,940 59,198 68 313,270 73,525
‘September 46 17,083 97,665 ° 53 10,794. 9,483
October 87 237,866 128,365 502 248,205 113,088
November 57 59,442 38,632 46 194,829 21,383
December 113 271,477 236,483 105 334,779 61,483
Total 791 1,361,464 1,005,922 © 1,235 1,583,604 528,616
1989
January 67 50,056 81,848 47 22,172 13,651
February 45 27,258 95,276 28 6,564 7,300
March 76 135,615, 97,213 50 31,694 22,845
April 42 28,191 40,283 34 22,389 19,275
May 64 30,081 128,345, 41 6,218 25,796
June 63 68,619 56,850 46 17,031 7,178
July 45 15,124 39,985 21 12,187 11,971
August 53 95,753 68,283 60 68,992 27,309
September 92 299,839 135,368 44 5,607, 11,299
October 48 42,285 57,801 30 2,252 5,545
November 86 530,478 95,767 25 5,769 7,217
December 118 425,787 229,219 48 44,167 25,348
Multiple 1 36 63 11) 0 te)
Total 800, 1,749,122 1,126,301 474 245,042 184,734
1990 .
January 68 33,786 70,915 39 11,080 6,813
February 51 80,887 41,719 33 11,811 10,380
March 55 143,673 93,962 35 107,807 71,017
April 55 57,958 22,397 42 10,415 11,762
May. 58 20,886 94,806 46 26,220 50,245
June 62 29,240 67,232 37 8,405 19,810
July 120 294,027 110,449 32 5,561 21,388
August 73 40,357 36,999 36 5,983 9,738
September 91 627,878 70,392 34 12,473 6,893
October 68 81,829 119,406 60 137,048 54,621
November 51 32,884 48,891 40 6,599 16,425
December 196 163,087 87,946. 51 25,850 27,927
Multiple 2 454 20,728 0 ie) an)

50



Appendix: Report Form FSA-153

Formerly ASCS-153, use old stock. we hk

“tse. .-) 4 «Form Approved - OMts No. 0560-0097

FSA-153

f
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
(03-19-96) Farm Service Agency

AGRICULTURAL FOREIGN INVESTMENT DISCLOSURE ACT REPORT

NOTE:, Reed Instructions on reverse Before Filing in Any Data Below. if Additional Space is Needéd, Use Reverse.

va 4. TYPE ACTIVITY (See Reverse) (Check one)
JA. Land" B. Land: C. Land
see ETE ithn iBa £

D, Land Use Char , 1
D. Lord usecharae* (] E band ueechango Te [-)

1TEM one - mi TEM =
2. Tract Location and Description ont. _[5. Type of Interest Held In the Agricuttural Land (Check One) CHECK
: ER | |A. Fee Interest (ownership) ~ Whole - 7
B. Fee Interest (ownership) Partial = ReWenr. %
C. Life Estate
8. COUNTY OR PARISH CNO:OF ACRES D. Trust Beneficiary
{| . =a
D-STATE i E Contact
. I | . Fs -Other (explain), 7
3. Owner of Tract (in item 2A) (See Reverse) i a
WANE
- [6 How was this Tract Acquired or Transferred? CHECK
‘BID NO. (Nine digits] Tete AS: A. Cash Transaction
y foresaw L_] B.' Credit oF Installment Transaction
‘LEGAL ADDRESS (Sireer Cif, State/Province, Conny) | ©. Trade
D. Gift or Inheritance
Fofeclosure
“Fe Other (explain)
D. Type of Owner (Check One) | we
4, Individual (including husband’wife) i 2
a. Citizen | | 7. Value of Agricultural Land ~
Price of Land'or if'a land di |
2. Government (name of country) I | Eldon, the orginal pice paid by seller =| S
3 ition By NonPuicase, Esimated Valueatthe |,
ap MPS poration Time of Acquisition
- C. What is the estimated current value or if
2) Partnership ] the selling price of the $
23) Estate i =
D. How much of puretase price in tem 7A
4) Trust —- I remains tobe paid? os
8) Institution I © Bato of Acquistion or | WONTH ‘DAY YEAR
6) Associ I Transfer (See Reverse) | : |
7 | f land. For
7 9. Current Land Use (Usual use of land. For idle land,
ee ee ey ] | report as other Agriculture.) Report in Whole Numbers ‘ACRES
C. Principal place of business (for | | |A. Crop
ota pea ERAGE AOE SATCRAT a Pas
son Separate shee, the Name, ui
foreign persons who individually or in the aggregate hold significant C. Forest or Timber
interest or substantial control 1/in the person owning the land. Dy Other Agriculare
. Complete only If item 4C - Land Disposition -is checked | E. Non-Agriculture |
1" RRME OF PERSON RECEIVING TRACT Total (Shou equal ZC) T -
(DDRESS SUPE, CI, STaIe/PFOWIRCE, COURT] 10. intended Use as of This Date (Check One) ‘CHECK
[A. No Change
B. Other Agriculture
_ [C. Non-Agriculture
3. CHIZENSHP r i
usa [J _roreien (J UNKNOWN 41. Relationship of Owner to Producer (applcabry CHECK
“. Representative of Foreign Person (completing form, fapplicable) | H
NAME A. Producer is: j
| 4. Owner
B, ADDRESS (Sirest, State, Country) 2. Manager
‘3. Tenant or sharecropper i
B, Rental agreement is: _ ia
C>TELEPHONE NO. (Area Codey 4. A crop share i
D. Relationship of Representative to Foreign Person | CHECK _| 2. Cash or fixed rent i
4. Anomney H
Manager i 42. The Producer on This Tract Is: | check
3. Agent I (A. ‘The same personas when the tract was acquired H ~
‘4, Other (Explain on Reverse) | B. A new person i

73. CERTIFICATION - I certify that the information entered in this report is com mp ‘and correct. [understand that falsification Of reporting is ‘subject

10.4 civil penalty not to exceed 25% of the fair market value of the interest hel

in the tract of land.

13-SIGNATURE TOTO GY LITER FSPEETAT pie

[Pate ~

54



Table 33--Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by type of foreign owners,.
by State, January 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
State Individual Organization Total
and U.S. Parcels | Parcels Parcels
Territory. - reported |Acres reported Acres _ reported Acres
HT

Alabama 0) ) 4 61 4 61
Arizona 1 38 17 5,899 18 5,937
Arkansas 2 | 580 5 2,123 7 2,703
California ie) 0 16 4,560 16 4,560
Colorado 2 | 344 13 7,183 15 7,527
Florida 2 | 16 18 10,182 20 10,198
Georgia 7 | 811 22 15,208 29 16,019
Hawaii i) 0 2 1
Idaho Oo te) 3 219 3 219
Illinois 0 i) 28 2,615 28 2,615
Indiana 1 320 1 32 2 352
lowa 3 617 i) te) 3 617
Kentucky te) | 0 12 2,023 12 2,023
Louisiana 0 | 0 3 2,576 3 2,576
Maine te) | 0 43 236,772 43 286.778
Maryland 0 | te) 1 208 1 1B
Minnesota le) te) 1 40. 1 40
Mississippi 0 te) 3 1,008 3 1,008
Missouri 1 808 1 199 2 1,007
Nevada 0 0 1 640 1 640
New Jersey oO i) 2 496 2 496
New York 1 32 te) te) 1 32
North Carolina (0) 0) 7 10,174 7 10,174
North Dakota 4 1,723 4 1,560 8 3,283
Ohio 0 0 24 1,908 24 1,908
Oklahoma ie) td) 2 282 2 282
Oregon ie) 0 4 1,154 4 1,154
Pennsylvania 0 - 0 7 994 7 994
South Carolina ie) 0 4 497 4 497
Tennessee 3 385 2 210 5 595
Texas 4 1,030 8 3,440 12 4,470
Utah O i) 5 156 5 156
Vermont 7 128 8 3,569 15 3,697
Virginia 2 217 4 124 6 341
Washington 1 1,048 7 515 18 1,563
West Virginia 0 0 12 371 12 371
Wisconsin 1 308 7 295 8 603

Total 52 8,405 300 317,295 352 325,700

42



Table 8--U.S. agricultural.landholdings; by. country of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997---Continued’

| (Number)
Country | Owners Parcels Acres
i

Pakistan | 7 10 . 1,366
Panama | 124 153 119,421
Peru | 19 20 308
Philippines | 31 41 3,938
Poland | 1 1 147
Portugal | 8 an] 4,146
Russia | 3 6 782
St Vincent | 2 4 2,637
Saudi Arabia | 44 61 31,956
Senegal | 1 1 10
Singapore | 3 3 504
Somalia | 1 1 i
South Africa | 7 8 2;673
Spain | 22 27 5,593
Sweden | 31 50 56;806
Switzerland | 396 553 295,842
Syria | 6 8 2,689
Taiwan | 34 39 8,852
Tanzania | 2 2 10,143
Thailand 8 10 1,835
Trinidad & Tobago 3 3 94
Turkey | 1 1 38
Turks Islands | 9 13 3,292
United Arab Emirates | 12 13 2,678
United Kingdom | 247 387 503,843
Uruguay 6 8 “10,807
Venezuela | 90 143 21,689
Vietnam | 1 1 152
Zimbabwe | 1 1 230
Multiple | 48 67 51,295
Third tier | 14 18 13,498

Subtotal ' » 5,593 ° 7,888 - 5,586,830
US/Andorra 1 1 3,741
US/Argentina 5 8 4,056
US/Australia 9 1 5,064
US/Austria 20 50 . 50,574
US/Bahamas 20 46 66;269
US/Barbados 1 1 41
US/Belgium 31 130 . 94,000
US/Bermuda 15 20 » 11,528
US/Brazil 6 59 : 13,119
US/British Virgin

Islands 17 31 302,715
US/Canada 258 1,021 1,869,009
US/Cayman Islands. 13 26 32,274
US/Chile 2 4 9,948
US/China 5 9 13,091
US/Colombia 12 19 13,740
US/Costa Rica 2 2 807
US/Denmark 9 17 8,318
US/Dominican Republic . 1 1 589
US/Ecuador 3 3 1,632
US/Egypt 6 19 3,061
US/EI Salvador 4 6 607
US/Finland 4. 81 195,057
US/France 117 457 1,132,190
US/Germany 239 1,235 882,256
US/Greece . 3 406 5,249
US/Guatemala 2 3 412
US/Guyana 1 2 334
US/Honduras + 1 1 37
US/Hong Kong : 19 24 130,498
US/Indonesia 3 5 644



Table 20--Foreign owners of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by State,
Vanuary 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
1
| A ati
State | Individual Organization
and U.S. Parcels Parcels
Territory reported Acres reported Acres

Alabama | le) 0 24 357,773
Arizona | ie) (0) 8 - 5,587
Arkansas i 0 to) 5 1,162
California | 1 8 18 5,387
Colorado 2 1,089 8 19,069
Connecticut 0 te) 1 334
Florida 4 38 26 21,367
Georgia 1 417 21 23,140
Idaho | te) 0 3 219
Illinois | ie) 0 4 352
Indiana 2 110 3 888
Kansas te) i) 2 395
Kentucky 1 47 10 762
Louisiana te) 0 3 553
Maine | 1 12 16 26,580
Massachusetts te) 0 2 614
Michigan 1 40 1 82
Minnesota ie) (0) 7 560
Mississippi 2 88 3 1,928 .
Nebraska 0 0 1 440
New Hampshire 0 0 3 1,893
New Jersey 0 0 1 3
New York 1 339 1 227
North Carolina 1 9 3 657
North Dakota 2 840 i) 0
Ohio 6 1,313 8 2,850
Oklahoma te) ty) 6 1,330
Oregon 1 329 2 116
Pennsylvania ie) 0 7 314
South Carolina te) O 8 4,214
Tennessee 2 30 oO 0
Texas 5 472 21 10,814
Utah te) i) 5 393
Vermont 4 175 6 1,654
Virginia 2 68 8 377
Washington 9 304 18 2,995
West Virginia 0. i} 30 684
Wisconsin 2 325 6 1,426
Wyoming 0 (0) 3 12,211

Total 50 6,053 302 509,350

32



18.

List of Tables

US. agricultural landholdings of foreign owners, by State, December 31, 1997 . 0.4... eee , 5
U.S. agricultural landholdings, by type of foreign owner, December 31, 1997 ............... 7
Foreign owners of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by State, December 31,1997 ............. 8
Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings, by size of holding, December 31, 1997......... 9
Value of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by type of foreign owner, December 31, 1997 ........ 9
Value of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings, by date of acquisition,

December 31, 1997.0... 2... cece eee eee eee eee eee Vee cece ete ence een e eee 10
Value of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings, by State, December 31,1997 ........ 12
U.S. agricultural landholdings, by country of foreign owner, December:31, 1997... . weetene B
Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by U.S. region, December 31, 1997 - ...17
Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings, by type of interest, method of acquisition,

and owner representative, December 31, 1997... 20.0000. cece cece eu ceceeceseeuceceees 20
Use of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by country of foreign owner, December 31 71997 ...... 22

Landholdings of foreign owners that consist only of U.S. forest or only of U.S. forest and other
nonagricultural land, by State, December 31, 1997 ...

Landholdings of foreign owners that consist only of U.S. forest or only of U.S. forest and other
nonagricultural land, by country of foreign owner, December 31, 1997...............00005 26

Landholdings of foreign owners that consist only of U.S. forest or only of U.S. forest and other

nonagricultural land, by type of foreign owner, December 31, 1997 ..........00ecceeeeeee 28
Landholdings of foreign owners that consist only of U.S. forest or only of U.S. forest and other

nonagricultural land, by size of holding, December 31,1997 ...............ceeceeeeeeee 28
‘Intended use of U.S. agricultural landholdings of foreign owners, December 31, 1997........ 28
Tenure of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings, December 31, 1997 .............. 29

U.S. agricultural land acquisitions of foreign owners, by State, January 1-December 31, 1997 . . 30

U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by type of foreign owner, January 1-December 31, 1997 ... 31



No change in intended use was reported for 94 percent of the acres (table 16). Intended use changes to other
agricultural usage were reported for holders of 2 percent of the acres. Reports for 3 percent of the acres indicate
that some, change to nonagricultural use is intended. Such reports do not necessarily mean, however, that all of
these acres will be changed. What the reports do mean is that the holders of these acres intended to change the
use-of some of the acreage. However, the report form does not ask how many acres will be involved. Reports
representing 1 percent of the acres did not indicate intended use.

Tenure

Tenants and foreign owners, operate 37 and 29 percent of the parcels of foreign-held U:S. agricultural land,
respectively, whereas managers operate only 10 percent of the parcels (table 17). No responses to the tenure
question were received for 24 percent of the parcels. Tenants operate 26 percent of the acres, while foreign
owners directly operate 47 percent and managers 12 percent. No responses on tenure were received for 15
percent of the acres.

Rental agreements were reported for 4,695 parcels, or 33 percent, covering 23 percent of the acres. Of the rental
agreements, cash agreements accounted for 72 percent and cropshare agreements for 27 percent of the parcels.

Tenure Change

No tenure changes were reported for 46 percent of the parcels, or 55 percent of the acres (table 17). Reports for
31 percent of the parcels containing 29 percent of the acres indicate a new tenure arrangement on at least part of
the land. The acreage affected by the new tenure arrangements is not reported. Thus, the acreage may be

Table 12--Landholdings of foreign owners that consist only of U.S. forest or
only of U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land, by State,
December 31, 1997

(Number)
State . State
and U.S. and U.S. Parcels Acres
Territory Pareels. Actos - Territory

Alabama 330 474,110) Missouri 12 3,476
Alaska 1 110}) Montana 10 1,033
Arizona 1 13] New Hampshire 30 16,588
Arkansas 14 1,994 New Jersey 9 5,584
California 28 235,330]) || New Mexico 3 9,450
Colorado 8 3,385]| || New York 151 230,479
Connecticut 4 117]) ||North Carolina 75 42,039
Florida 67 99,404] || Ohio 20 7,584
Georgia 489 313,390]} |] Oklahoma 1 66
Hawaii 2 289}] |]Oregon 26 47,749
Idaho 2 156) Pennsylvania 168 49,666
Illinois 28 3,262|| ||South Carolina 158 102,614
Indiana 14 1,320]| |] Tennessee 74 40,307
Kansas 1 20]| ||Texas 382 9,522
Kentucky 101 48,765]| ||Utah 2 636
Louisiana 23 187,515]] || Vermont 200 53,202
Maine 199 2,969,421 Virginia 253 36,536
Maryland 4 364]) ||Washington 113 95,616
Massachusetts 7 1,589} || West Virginia . 244 139,996
Michigan 29 292,160] ||Wisconsin 14 6,209
Minnesota 88. 193,593

Mississippi 23 4,373) Total 3,058 5,729,032



Table 7 adjusts reported current value by State for the same reasons given in the discussion of table 6.
Because the reported current value in table 7 is adjusted by each State’s average annual change in farmland
value, the total adjusted current value will differ from that of table 6. Simply explained, not all land values in
table 6. would have changed.at the national average. Therefore, the total adjusted current value in.table 7
should be a better measure of value than that of table 6. The total adjusted current value by State indicates:a
26-percent increase from the reported current value. ,

Country of Origin. Of the 14,335,779 acres of foreign-held agricultural land reported by foreign persons, 61
percent is held by U.S. corporations with foreign interests. The remaining 39 percent is held by foreign
persons not.connected with a U.S. corporation (table 8). *

Table 6--Value of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings,
by date of acquisition, December 31, 1997---Continued

. Acres with current value Reported current value ? Adjusted current value °

Date acquired reported (Number) (1,000 dollars) (1,000 dollars)
1997 515,005 431,748 431,748
1996 635,628 394,580 406,417
1995 . 493,340 290,890 319,979
1994 1,150,501 344,102 402,599
1993 600,410 277,822 344,499
1992 510,299 400,799 513,023
1991 280,925 391,387 504,889
1990 | 871,098 696,909 912,951
1989 768,482 759,153 1,024,857
1988 941,147 711,855 1,017,953
1987 423,529 322,873 477,852
1986 456,270 440,109 638,158
1985 337,912 311,942 405,525
1984 447,442 479,572 546,712
1983 : 262,645 377,227 418,722
1982 511,118 . 555,495 588,825
1981 931,932 830,766 839,074
1980 489,223 636,385 674,568
1979 745,612 . 909,150 1,063,705
1978 365,218 429,146 502,101
1977 293,652 462,496 541,120
1976 355,799 212,193 * 248,266
1975 107,246 112,282 131,370
1970-74 297,595 . 829,146 385,101
1960-69 264,918 155,823 182,313
Before 1960 526,586. 89,230 104,399

Total 13,583,532 11,353,080 13,626,725

* Purchase price and nonpurchase price (estimated value) at time of acquisition.
? Reported current value reflects value at time of reporting after February 1, 1979.
* Reported current value adjusted to January 1, 1997. Reported current value for holdings acquired in 1997 is unadjusted.



Table 9--Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by U.S. region,

December 31, 1997

(Number)
Country South West Northeast Midwest
Parcels Acres Parcels Acres Parcels Acres Parcels Acres

Argentina 34 5,764 6 4,866 3 1,798 2 240
Australia 9 4,025 5 1,440 3 419 6 2,375
Austria 47 11,353 5 1,149 8 662 16 3,908
Bahamas 39 9,342 7 18,645 6 * 1,123 1 7,200
Belgium 26 10,943 55 51,777 12 802 11 2,563
Belize 4 159 1 25 0 0 1 365
Bermuda 23 67,800 7 1,233 8 2,067 28 2,460
Bolivia 2 an) to) 0 0 0 0 0
Brazil 16 9,839 1 320 1 137 1 40
British Virgin Islands 96 174,015 3 4,203 3 690 3 2,071
Canada 308 69,781 495 277,192 722 1,424,526 199 71,745
Cayman Islands 34 12,587 9 17,120 4 248 8 4,218
Chile 7 635 1 960 1 300 1 160
China 6 569 2 172 i} 0 1 92
Colombia 37 11,501 0 0 0 0 1 100
Costa Rica 8 2,845 1 10,840 0 QO 1. 150
Croatia to) 0 oO 0 0 0 1 160
Cuba * 4 58 0O 0 0 0 0 to)
Cyprus 0 0 2 516 0 i) 0 0
Czech Republic 1 27 O 0 0 0 1 320
Denmark 4 909 8 5,964 6 4,806 5 2,087
Dominican Republic 3 29 oO 0 to) - 0 9 2,079
Ecuador 27 951 O 0 0 0 to)

Egypt 12 1,323 1 97 1 100 1 42
El Salvador 3 128 oO 0 0 0 0 0
Finland oO ) 1 80 0 i) 0 0
France 104 18,144 50 94,332 22 12,079 17 5,323
Gambia 1 294 O to) 0 O i) 0
Germany 836 313,055 320 249,466 240 56,353. 447 137,624
Gibraltar 3 478 1 200 0O oO 0 0
Greece Wi 57,972 2 1,439 2 90 5 590
Guatemala 8 553 O O 2 307 1 242
Guyana a 35 0 0O 0 O oO 0
Honduras 12 1,018 0 oO 0 oO O 0
Hong Kong 32 3,984 45 5,814 7 1,657 4 987
Hungary i} oO t) O 1 103 oO 0
India 5 1,108 12 703 1 23 0 ti)
Indonesia 4 752 2 671 O 0 Oo 0
Iran 5 396 7 481 5 788 6 678
Ireland 9 6,456 1 3,600 0 0 3 350
Israel 2 364 1 61 1 159 2 367
Italy 20 33,656 abl 1,684 5 860 13 2,981
Ivory Coast 0 0 0 0 1 119 0 0
Jamaica 4 567 0 ) 0 0 0 oO
Japan 32 34,551 91 158,030 3 247 31 14,539
Jordan 12 719 1 571 2 229 3 61
Kampuchea 0 0 0 i) Oo 0 1 31
Korea (South) 6 605 2 957 1 100 1 34
Kuwait 9 19,020 2 224 1 217 4 727
Laos 1 31 O oO O 0 0 oO
Lebanon 24 7,198 5 2,410 4 239 9 2,737
Liberia 1 2,959 10 23,381 3 4,637 1 114
Liechtenstein 76 62,570 57 58,792 14 2,153 18 9,722
Luxembourg 3 2,289 2 505 oO 0 1 286
Malaysia 4 40 4 7,908 oO oO O i)
Mexico 269 147,354 24 32,762 1 27 9 1,200
Morocco 0 oO 1 360 3 515 1 160
Namibia 2 106 0 0 i) 0 0 0
Nepal 1 68 O oO 0 0 to) 0
Netherlands 169 48,634 61 35,869 32 10,070 68. 17,369
Netherlands Antilles 209 166,126 98 149,612 31 6,578 34 23,776
New Zealand 4 13,661 2 350 ti) 0 0 0
Nicaragua 4 1,378 O 0 i) O 0 0
Norway 2 654 2 201 0 0 14 3,229



Table 8--U.S. agricultural landholdings, by country of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997.

(Number)
Country Owners Parcels Acres
Argentina 38 45 - 12,668
Australia 20 23 8,259
Austria 60 76 17,072
Bahamas 36 53 36,310
Belgium 88 104 66,085
Belize 4 6 . 549
Bermuda 50 66 73,560
Bolivia 2 2 1
Brazil 10 19 10,336
British Virgin Islands 31 105 180,979
Canada 1,373 1,724 1,843,244
Cayman Islands 44 55 34,173
Chile . 7 10 2,055
China 7 9 833,
Colombia 32 38 11,601
Costa Rica 8 10 13,835
Croatia 1 1 160
Cuba 3 4 58
Cyprus 1 2 516
Czech Republic 2 2 347
Denmark 19 . 23 13,766
Dominican Republic 12 12 2,108
Ecuador a1 27 951
Egypt 14 15 1,562
El Salvador 3 3 128
Finland 1 1 80
France 147 193 129,878
Gambia 1 1 . 294
Germany 1,059 1,843 "756,498
Gibraltar 3 4 678
Greece 14 20 60,091
Guatemala 10 W 1,102
Guyana 1 1 35
Honduras 12 12 1,018
Hong Kong 62 88 12,442
Hungary 1 1 103
India 14 18 1,834
Indonesia 4 6 1,423
Iran 20 23 2,343
Ireland 5 . 13 10,406
Israel 5 6 951
Italy 37 49 39,181
Ivory Coast . 1 1 119
Jamaica 4 4 567
Japan 118 “157 207,367
Jordan 16 18 1,580
Kampuchea 1 1 31
Korea (South) 9 10 1,696
Kuwait 11 16 20,188
Laos 1 . 1 31
Lebanon 31 42 12,584
Liberia 17 25 31,091
Liechtenstein 114 165 133,237
Luxembourg 5 6 3,080
Malaysia 4 8 7,948
Mexico. 236 303 181,343
Morocco 2 5 1,035
Namibia 1 2 106
Nepal 1 1 68
Netherlands 250 330 111,942
Netherlands Antilles 279 372 346,092
New Zealand 5 6 14,011
Nicaragua 3 4 1,378
Norway 18 18 4,084
Oman 2 5 454



Table 13--Landholdings of foreign owners that consist only of U.S: forest or. only:of U.S.
forest and.other|nonagricultural land, ‘by country of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997

(Number)
|
Country | Owners Parcels . Acres

Argentina 2 2 240
Australia 5 7 946
‘Austria | 11 14 5,567
Bahamas | 2 2 7,399
Belgium | 2 2 ~- 161
Belize | 1 2 102
Bermuda | 8 14 41,617
Brazil | 1 2 22
British Virgin Islands | 2 63 57,905
Canada | 300 452 1,386,599
Cayman Islands | 4 7 2,384
Costa Rica | 1 1 20
Denmark | 4 5 + 6,027
Egypt | 3 4 140
El Salvador 1 1 a)
France | 1" 14 7,620
Germany | 144 310 167,556
Greece } 3 3 118
Guatemala | 1 1 188
Hong Kong | 2 3 1,422
India 1 1 831
Iran | .3 3 243
Israel | 1 1 76
Japan | 5 5 543
~ Jordan 3 4 204
Korea (South) 1 1 353
Kuwait 1 1-- ..198
Lebanon 2 3 85
Liberia 2 2 4,290
Liechtenstein 9 13 14,191
Luxembourg 1 1 250
Mexico 2 3 208
Netherlands 6 10 4,375
Netherlands Antilles 21 32 37,222
Norway 1 1 74
Pakistan 1 1 14
Panama 5 8 15,736
Philippines 3 4 184
St Vincent 1 1 20
Saudi Arabia 3 3 665
Somalia 1 1 1
Spain 3 3 542
Sweden 2 2 105
Switzerland 18 26 9,352
Syria 2 2 147
Taiwan 1 1 96
Turks Islands 2 2 105
United Arab Emirates 1 2 705
United Kingdom 42 77 173,582
Venezuela 7 8 1,235
Vietnam 1 1 152
Multiple 5 6 3,904
Third tier 2 2 1,187
Subtotal * 667 1,140 1,956,968
US/Australia 2 2 346
US/Austria 7 30 28,568
US/Bahamas 3 4 3,454
US/Belgium 7 47 25,808
US/Bermuda 3 3 1,471

US/British Virgin
Islands 3 6 143,740
US/Canada 47 467 1,223,915
US/Cayman Islands 1 1 640



Table 3--Foreign owners of U.S. agricultural landholdings,
| by State, December 31, 1997

(Number)
State Individual Organization
and U.S. '
Territory Peresis Acres Parcels Acres
|

Alabama { 28 499 391 607,566
Alaska 1 75 2. 120
Arizona 26 11,747 187 339,824
Arkansas 61 29,519 145 127,277
California 209 64,864 987 872,566
Colorado 139 102,700 279 625,440
Connecticut 4 109 14 1,107
Delaware 4 926 9 4,952
Florida 426 29,509 914 652,893
Georgia 159 55,497 821 449,067
Hawaii 22 2,055 79 178,018
Idaho 12 6,707 39 16,213
Illinois 51 10,363 513 192,244
Indiana 44 5,739 169 92,800
lowa | 66 15,143 78 17,780
Kansas | 37 10,832 91 53,147
Kentucky 50 7,914 295 111,703
Louisiana 16 8,637 114 338,356
Maine 29 17,544 201 3,019,654
Maryland 50. 9,402 134 42,292
Massachusetts 2 252 10 2,391
Michigan 57 8,024 73 307,524
Minnesota 20 6,723 152 216,112
Mississippi 9 1,525 218 199,525
Missouri 46 16,527 101 54,764
Montana 65 45,026 126 446,058
Nebraska 9 2,800 34 72,081
Nevada 2 693 26 435,497
New Hampshire 10. 1,549 30 17,370
New Jersey 9 1,206 52 21,992
New Mexico 53 11,413 95 775,050
New York 269 53,749 171 232,696
North Carolina 44 7,580 208 225,421
North Dakota 39 10,856 20 13,225
Ohio 87 16,843 243 172,002
Oklahoma 13 7,885 90 51,791
Oregon 51 11,759 90 221,156
Pennsylvania 29 2,773 301 100,896
Puerto Rico 4 579 6 260
Rhode Island 0 td) 1 17
South Carolina 60 13,987 237 162,684
South Dakota 4 10,971 27 30,776
Tennessee 82 17,704 134 73,652
Texas 711 163,047 1,167 1,046,712
Utah 5 1,151 44 57,325
Vermont 342 25,851 194 58,639
Virginia 118 18,187 454 111,287
Washington 164 15,300 374 176,880
West Virginia 14 2,077 273 174,148
Wisconsin 68 11,022 67 22,450
Wyoming 15 29,524 63 206,015

Total 3,872 906,364 10,543, 13,429,415



Table 40--Acquisitions and dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land, by date,

January 1981 - December 1997---Continued
{

Acquisitions Dispositions
Date Bien |Acres Value reamed Acres noon
(Number) | Number) [(1,000 dotlars)'} (Number) | (Number) | {1000 ,
|
|
May 32 | 8,107 19,940 36 6,015 7,748
June 34 | 11,558 14,895 54 12,414 32,830
July 28 3,213 18,704 53 103,183 18,708
August 35 7,867 24,095 85 14,331 16,248
September 30 | 7,128 8,282 64 13,322 13,302
October 20 4,473 8,420 38 8,702 4,331
November 15 3,766 12,557 50 7,769 15,797
December 32 920,086 95,877 82 29,789 24,995
Total 369 1,051,170 302,350 589 332,433 183,359
1995 | :
January 58 | 87,322 39,525 116 59,982 47,732
February 31 | 11,871 9,639 42 17,570 13,644
March 53 | 17,534 49,019 4 4,072 3,842
April 86 84,500 76,661 53 41,981 37,404
May 27 3,066 5,313 47 25,443 23,889
June 43 110,022 16,152 40 6,365 13,314
July 42 23,528 . 19,216 58 7,852 8,008
August 34 47,110 85,350 42 22,010 37,226
September 32 4,500 14,574 . . 37 40,716 13,192
October ‘ 33 33,157 18,888 35 6,571 7,602
November 33 24,070 19,376 28 7,187 5,499
December 107 105,349 38,667 73 36,824 31,201
Total 579 552,029 392,380 612 276,573 242,553
1996
January 33 6,065 17,793 60 162,685 80,355
February 59 302,731 21,264 35 10,864 15,197
March 80 1,042,737 841,537 199 924,164 773,972
April 56 24,531 17,251 111 294,552 34,664
May 42 8,787 8,969 99 882,342 79,841
June. . 43 36,634 17,326 36 5,285 4,928
July” ~ 33 58,625 34,740 60 19,742 27,261
August a 35 9,535 12,675 86 286,841 42,131
September 43 12,332 17,437 47 7,241 6,428
October . 36 25,057 22,274 51 380,005 244,164
November 31 8,454 ‘47,559 26 4,712 7,331
December 71 39,175 32,930 67 18,248 24,531
Total 562 1,574,663 1,091,755 877 2,996,681 1,340,803
1997
January 49 14,370 24,675 55 8,953. 13,225
February 37 22,095 20,496 29 10,457 12,898
March 46 365,203 274,942 4 6,379 9,276
April 35 25,331 12,766 39 89,683 6,069
May 34 15,558 13,228 31 17,900 8,652
June 32 14,537 24,392 40 16,688 15,576
July 28 11,299 12,919 25 7,451 7,191
August 29 7,518 27,770 25 17,952 24,052
September 29 5,911 4,697 24 16,148 8,506
October 18 29,770 12,893 31 132,520 3,702
November 14 2,043 1,561 7 692 1,713
December 1 1,768 2,500 5 877 1,101
Total 352 515,403 432,839. 352 325,700 111,961

|
|
* Value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value) at time of acquisition.

52





Table 11--Use of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by country of foreign owner,
December 31,°1997---Continued

(Acres)
Other Other non-
Country Cropland Pasture Forest agriculture agriculture Total

Norway 2,988 647 154 225 70 4,084
Oman 120, 126 126 43 39 454
Pakistan 1,319 oO 14 i} 33 1,366
Panama . 22,088 48,060 17,969 15,475 15,829 119,421
Peru 137 13 16 87 55 308
Philippines 1,232 1,011 406 967 322 3,938
Poland 72 25 50 te) te) 147
Portugal 2,505 592 200 832 17 4,146
Russia 145 106 207 55 269 782
St Vincent 295 1,230 1,042 10 60 2,637
Saudi Arabia 9,508 7,424 2,537 9,200 3,287 31,956
Senegal 10 0 0 i) ie) 10
Singapore o 468 O 34 2. 504
Somalia 0 0 in (0) 0 11
South Africa . 622 1,616 50 385 te) 2,673
Spain 1,103 2,614 1,159. 397 320 5,593
Sweden 3,430 2,670 8,302 41,616 788 56,806
Switzerland 112,577 103,969 22,839 15,326 41,131 295,842
Syria 1,447 808 133 229 72 2,689
Taiwan 4,638 1,656 1,035 470 1,053 8,852
Tanzania 5,000 35 0 170 4,938 10,143
Thailand 569 140 948 150 28 1,835
Trinidad & Tobago 24 30 35 te) 5 94
Turkey 0 38 0. 0 0 38
Turks Islands 2,390. 391 267 172 72 3,292
United Arab Emirates 558 118 760 1,239 3 2,678
United Kingdom 88,361 197,229 196,350 16,252 5,651 503,843
Uruguay 1,820 7,916 490 ie) 581 10,807
Venezuela 11,543 3,508 2,784 2,318 1,536 21,689
Vietnam 0 0 152 le) ie) . » 152
Zimbabwe 131 30 67 te) 2 230
Multiple 8,631 9,122 4,500. 28,183 859 51,295
Third tier 3,305 7,553 1,328 1,119 193 13,498
~- Subtotal * 1,194,656 1,663,284 2,147,500 391,509 189,881 5,586,830
US/Andorra 200 3,541 i) 1) le) 3,741
US/Argentina 1,919 1,461 70 192 414 4,056
US/Australia 798 973 1,381 1,100 812 5,064
US/Austria 7,694 12,525 29,630 634 91 50,574
US/Bahamas 15,634 31,371 4,361 10,351 4,552 66,269
US/Barbados 41 i?) 0 0 O 41
US/Belgium 18,806 37,845 33,151 1,842 2,356 94,000
US/Bermuda 744 511 2,122 7,395 756 11,528
US/Brazil 10,030 2,383 0 536 170 13,119
US/British Virgin

Islands 3,636 152,359 - . 144,725 1,814 181 302,715
US/Canada 86,554 217,797 1,412,135 109,241 43,282 1,869,009
US/Cayman Islands 7,767 397 13,717 9,786 607 32,274
US/Chile . 12 9,931 5 te) 0 9,948
US/China 316 2,059 1,068 1,298 8,350 13,091
US/Colombia 302 13,387 50 ie) 1 13,740
US/Costa Rica. 0 639 168 te) te) 807
US/Denmark. 649 235 6,434. 97 903 8,318
US/Dominican Republic O- O 454 ie) 135. 589
US/Ecuador 69 1,549 te) 0 14 1,632
US/Egypt 1,806 559 300 237 159 3,061
US/EI Salvador 52 555 te) ie) te) 607
US/Finland 60 0 194,910 . te) 87 195,057
US/France 49,311 10,445 1,006,995 48,545 16,894 1,132,190
US/Germany 156,240 386,304 265,718 17,954 56,040 882,256
US/Greece 110. 4,957 147 : te) 35 - 5,249
US/Guatemala i) 392 0 20 0 » 412
US/Guyana 0 Oo te) 334 te) .. 834

23.



Relationship of Foreign Owner to Representative

Forms were most commonly completed by attorneys, representing 31 percent of the parcels and 35 percent of the
acreage (table 10). The second largest group is the “other” category (accountants, family members, and people
associated with or employed by corporations) with filings for 24 percent of the parcels and 21 percent of the
acres, followed by managers, with filings for 16 percent of the parcels covering 17 percent of the acres.

Land Use |

Forty-five percent of the reported foreign- owned holdings of agricultural land is timber or forest land (table 11);
cropland accounts for only 17 percent. Foreign- owned cropland, pasture, and other agricultural land (which
includes, for example, orchards and vineyards) total 52 percent of all foreign-owned holdings, but only 0.5
percent of all privately held agricultural land in the United States. The other nonagriculture category accounts
for 3 percent of the reported foreign-held acres. Nonagricultural land includes acreage such as the homestead
and roads commonly reported as part of the agricultural landholding or land that is idle now but its last use
within the past 5 years was for agriculture.| These land-use figures should be used with caution because they
reflect only information received at the time of filing and do not account for changes in land use that may have
occurred subsequent to filing. |

Table 10--Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings, by type of interest,
method of acquisition, and owner representative, December 31, 1997

| (Number)
1
Item | Parcels Acres
Interest:
Fee interest whole 12,484 12,088,689
Fee interest partial ' 984 1,740,948
Life estate 48 9,615
Trust beneficiary 158 98,775
Purchase contract 660 335,084
Other 81 62,668
Total 14,415 14,335,779
Method of acquisition:
Cash only 7,512 5,112,705
Credit only 3,370 2,309,880
Trade only 321 335,655
Gift/inheritance only 369 229,036
Foreclosure only 66 65,740
Other method only 1,489 3,801,767
Cash & credit only 1,059 1,695,544
Cash & trade only 65 509,160
Cash & any other combination 60 59,459
No report 38 11,806
Noncash combinations 66 205,027
Total 14,415 14,335,779
Owner representative:
Attorney 4,505 4,960,672
Manager 2,338 2,395,488
Agent 1,754 1,714,209
Other 3,512 3,029,808
Foreign owner 1,872 991,428
No report 434 1,244,174
Total 14,415 14,335,779
* The fee interest partial is used for parcels owned only in part by the foreign investor; that is,
a percentage interest less than 100 percent.



35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by type of foreign owner,
January 1-December 31,1997 21... 0... ccc cece cc cece eect e cent ete tees eneneene 43

Dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land, by size of disposition,
January 1-December 31,1997 2.0... cece cece cece cent ene t eet eeeneneenens 44

Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by country of foreign owner,
January 1-December 31,1997 0... 0... cece cece cece terete ene ene e een 45

Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by country of foreign owner and U.S. region,
January 1-December 31,1997... 2.0... cece cece cece ete ene eet eet e eee e ences 46

Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by country of foreign owner and use,
January 1-December 31,1997 1.0.0.6 ccc ccc cece ence eee teen ence en enene AT

Acquisitions and dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land, by date,
January 1981-December 1997 0.0.0... cece cee cece net e teen tenet neces 48



‘able

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

Foreign owners of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by State,
January 1-December 31, 1997, bebeteeee

Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land acqui
January 1-December 31, 1 ony pene

ions, by size of acquisition,

Value of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by type of foreign owner,

January 1-December 31, 1997 33
|

U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by country of foreign owner, .

January 1-December 31, 1997 34

Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by U.S. region,
January 1-December 31, naa ses

Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by type of interest, method of acquisition, and
owner representative, January 1-December 31, 1997 36

Use of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by country of foreign owner,
January 1-December 31, 97

U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land acquisitions of foreign owners, by State,
January 1-December 31, 1997

USS. forest and other nonagricultural land acquisitions, by country of foreign owner,
January 1-December 31, 1997

U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land acquisitions, by type of foreign owner,
January 1-December 31, 1997

Foreign acquisitions of U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land, by size of acquisition,
January 1-December 31, 199/7

Intended use of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions of foreign owners,
January 1-December 31, 1997

Tenure of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, January 1-December 31, 1997 .. . 41

Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by type of foreign owners, by State,
January 1-December 31, 1997 oie cece eee e eee eect eee cette eee tee eee teen ene eee 42

Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land by foreign owners, by citizenship of purchasers,
January 1-December 31, V9OT eve e cece cece cette nett e cnet t ener tenet ees 43



In States where foreign persons own few parcels, the possibility of one or two unusual situations prevents any
generalization about concentration. For example, one large timber holding by a foreign person in a State with
a large number of field-crop farms could easily be misinterpreted to suggest that a single foreign person was
taking over the farming of the State.

Purchase Price and Value of Holdings. As noted earlier under “Type of Foreign Owner,” corporations own 79
percent of the acreage. Corporate purchase price and nonpurchase price (estimated value) at time of
acquisition account for 71 percent of the total price (table 5). The average per acre purchase price and
nonpurchase price (estimated value) at time of acquisition was the lowest for corporations, $695; followed by
“all others,” at $907; individuals, $942; and trusts, $1,176.

Table 4--Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings,
by size of holding, December 31, 1997

Size Owners Parcels Acres
(Acres) (Number) (Number) (Number)
Less than 20 894 946 9,320
20-59 1,404 1,608 48,438
60-99 746 888 57,772
100-299 1,778 2,275 313,737
300-999 1,644 2,624 905,943
1,000 or more 1,292 6,074 13,000,569
Total 7,758 14,415 14,335,779

Table 5--Value of U.S. agricultural landholdings,
by type of foreign owner, December 31, 1997

Acres Acres
with with non- Nonpurchase
Owners purchase Purchase purchase price '
Owner price Pi price (1,000
(Number) (1,000
reported dollars) reported dollars)
(Number) (Number)
Individual 3,042 769,967 805,264 136,397 49,038
Corporation 3,295 8,842,327 6,841,215 2,554,295 1,073,816
Partnership 1,135 1,446,862 1,840,881 241,669 204,514
Estate 12 918 2,048 700 59
Trust 220 205,861 248,899 18,189 14,623
Institution 3 1,075 1,367 0 i}
Association 3 9,402 12,789 159 465
Other 48 57,771 80,970 50,187 16,985
Total 7,758 11,334,183 9,833,433 3,001,596 1,359,500

* Purchase price and nonpurchase price (estimated value) at time of acquisition.



Summary

Foreign persons owned 14.3 million acres of U.S. agricultural land (forest land and farmland) as of
December 31, 1997. This is an increase of 199,419 acres from 1996, but still only slightly more
than 1 percent of all privately held agricultural land in the United States. These and other findings
are based on information submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in compliance with the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. Forest land accounted for nearly 45
percent of all foreign-owned acreage, cropland for 17 percent, pasture and other agricultural land
for 35 percent, and nonagricultural land for 3 percent. Corporations owned 79 percent of the
acreage, partnerships 12 percent, and individuals 6 percent. The remaining 3 percent was held by
estates, trusts, institutions, associations, and others.

U.S. corporations in which foreign persons have a significant interest or substantial control owned
61 percent of the foreign-held acreage. More than 57 percent of the foreign-held acreage was
owned by persons from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

A number of tracts of land are owned only in part by foreign investors. When the 14.3-million-
acre total is adjusted for these partial interests, the total foreign-owned acreage drops to the
equivalent of 13.1 million acres.

Maine has more acres owned by foreign persons than any other State. Four companies own 91
percent of the foreign-held acres in Maine, almost all in forest land. Two of these companies are
Canadian, one French, and the other a U.S. corporation that is partially Canadian owned. Foreign
holdings in Maine account for 17 percent of Maine’s privately owned agricultural land and 21
percent of all U.S. foreign-owned agricultural land.

Maine acreage aside, the foreign holdings are concentrated in the South and West, each containing
32 percent of the national total.

Foreign owners apparently are not taking purchased agricultural land out of production, as no
change in intended use was reported for 94 percent of the acres.

Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has remained relatively steady since 1981, slightly
above or below 1 percent of all privately owned agricultural land in the United States.



Table 8--U.S. agricultural landholdings; by country of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997---Continued ‘

(Number)
Country ~ Owners Parcels "> Acres
US/Iran 5 6 1,861
US/Iraq 1 1 800
US/Ireland 3 12 2,126
“US/israel 2 3 414
US/Italy 20 26 109,211
US/Japan 214 376 322,744
US/Jordan 3 3 434
US/Kenya 1 1 32
US/Korea (South) 2 2 85
US/Kuwait 7 13 8,330 |
US/Lebanon 4 5 411
US/Liberia 13 16 24,644
US/Libyan Arab Republic 2 3 280
US/Liechtenstein 58 103 107,570
US/Luxembourg 25 89 270,725
US/Malaysia 1 1 300
US/Malta 1 1 500
US/Mexico 50 87 256,586
US/Namibia 1 1 2
US/Netherlands 96 331 370,911
US/Netherlands Antilles 103 145 208,887
US/New Hebrides 1 1 883
US/New Zealand 3 4 49,403
US/Nicaragua 1 : 2 282
US/Norway 6 10 9,709
US/Pakistan 1 1 423
US/Panama 60 89 127,291
US/Paraguay 1 1 236
US/Peru 2 2 1,253
US/Philippines 10 14 8,790
“US/Portugal 2 2 1,683
US/Qatar 1 1 219
US/Saudi Arabia 13 29 11,598
US/Singapore 3 10 92,191
US/South Africa 6 8 6,862
US/Spain 16 53 16,957
US/Sweden 9 10 7,937
US/Switzerland 202 464 340,764
US/Taiwan 52 73 46,148
US/Thailand 1 3 252
US/Trinidad & Tobago 1 1 20
US/Turkey 1 3 753
US/United Arab Emirates 3 21 4,747
US/United Kingdom . 236 1,025 1,090,384
US/Uruguay 3 3 695
US/Venezuela 34 58 ~ 40,370
US/multiple 40 84 177,541
US/third tier 16 34 173,755
Subtotal ? 2,165 6,527 8,748,949
Total all
landholdings 7,758 14,415 14,335,779

‘ Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.

Persons from the top 10 (of 103) countries own a combined total of 11,333,474 acres, or 79 percent of all
reported foreign-owned holdings of U.S. agricultural land. Foreign persons from Canada own the largest amount
of reported foreign-held acres of U.S. agricultural land, 3,712,253 acres, or 26 percent. Foreign persons from an
additional three countries own more than 1,000,000 acres per country, including Germany and the United
Kingdom (U.K.) (11 percent each), and France (9 percent); collectively, these three countries own 4,495,049

15



USDA united states An Economic Research Service Report

Department of

| Agriculture

Lae Foreign Ownership of U.S.
as Agricultural Land Through

Bulletin

wees _ December 31, 1997

Charles H. Barnard
Jacqueline Stokes



Foreign entities from Canada purchased most of the U.S. forest land.or forest and other nonagricultural lands (table
28), accounting for 89 percent of such acquisitions, 288,982 acres.’ U.S. /Austria, U.S./Luxembourg, and U.S./UK
corporations purchased another 24,587 acres or 8 percent.

| :
Corporations accounted for the largest number of owners reportirig acquisitions of forest or forest and other
nonagricultural land--83 percent of the owners reported acquiring 91 percent of the parcels covering 99 percent of
the acres (table 29). {
Owners of parcels of less than 1,000 acres, \66 percent of the owners, reported acquiring 65 percent of the parcels
covering only 1 percent of the forest or forest and other nonagricultural lands (table 30). The remaining 34 percent
of the holders, owning parcels with 1,000 acres or more, reported acquiring 35 percent of the parcels covering 99
percent of these lands and representing 93 percent of the value.

Intended Use . |

Reports for more than 97 percent of the actes indicated no change in land use (table 31). Intended changes to other
agricultural and nonagricultural uses were reported for holders of approximately 3 percent of the acquired acres.
Because the form asks for changes by parcels and not acres, all of these acres may not be affected by the indicated
changes. Reports on intended use were received for all but a small fraction of the acres.

Table 27--U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land acquisitions of foreign owners, by State,
; January 1 - December 31, 1997

State Parcels
i - Acres : Value
and U.S. reported 1
Territory (Number) (Number) (1,000 dollars)
|

Alabama | 20 259,963 148,727
Colorado 1 239 5,673
Florida 7 12,094 10,693
Georgia 1 16,696 9,441
Kentucky 5 190 496
Louisiana 1 4 43
Maine 13 25,491 493
Minnesota 7 560 132
Mississippi 1 20 . 16
New Hampshire 3 1,893 1,519
Ohio 1 102 40
Pennsylvania 6 214 244
South Carolina 3 2,853 18,965
Tennessee 1 2 90
Vermont 5 411 270
Virginia 8 377 1,029
Washington 1 1,780 3,560
West Virginia 29 571 677

Total 123 323,460 202,108.

* Value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value).



reported. within 90 days of such changes.| Failure to comply with AFIDA subjects the foreign owner to a
possible civil penalty of up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the interest held in the land in question.
In accordance with section 7 of the act, completed report forms are made available for public inspection in
Washington, DC, within 10 days of receipt by the Secretary. Section 6 of the act requires that every 6 months
the Secretary transmit to each State completed report forms for foreign-owned agricultural land in that State.

. | 1
Definitions ; |
For this report, the term "holdings" applies to all U. S. agricultural laid owned by foreign persons as of
December 31, 1997. For transactions that occurred in 1997, the terms "acquisitions" and "dispositions" refer
to U.S. agricultural lands acquired or disposed of by foreign persons. These terms are used as the titles for
subsequent sections, which analyze the reported data.

"Agricultural land" is defined in. the act as all and used for agricultural, forestry, or timber production. The
regulations further define agricultural land as all land used for farming, ranching, or timber and include idle
land if its last use within the past 5 years|was for farming, ranching, or timber production. The regulations
also exempt all agricultural land not more than 10 acres in the aggregate if the annual gross receipts from the
sale of farm, ranch, or timber products from such Jand do not exceed $1,000.

AFIDA requires reporting "any interest" in the land other than a security interest (a mortgage or.other debt-..
securing instrument). The regulations exempt leaseholds of Jess than 10 years’ duration, contingent future
interests, noncontingent future interests that do not become possessory upon termination of the present estate,
nonagricultural easements and rights-of-v “way, and interests solely in mineral rights.

A."foreign person," as defined in the act, includes any individual who: (1) is not a U.S. citizen or national, (2)
is not.a citizen of the Northern Mariana Islands or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or (3) is not
lawfully admitted into the United States for permanent residence. Any person who holds an Immigration and
Naturalization Service Form I-151 or I-551 (green card) is considered lawfully admitted for permanent
residence and is exempt from the requirements of the act. Foreign governments, entities which are created
under the laws of or have their principal place of business in a foreign country, and U.S. entities in which
there is a significant foreign interest or substantial control are also defined as foreign persons under the act.

For this study, individuals are defined as| one person or a husband and wife. The "partnership" category
includes all legally defined partnerships,|joint ventures, and tenancies in common that include two or more
persons who are not married. The term partnership does not differentiate between joint tenancies and
tenancies in common. In the interest of simplicity and. brevity, fine legal distinctions, however important in an
individual case, are ignored.

Each foreign entity holding land is required to file a report. Therefore, if two individuals own land as a
partnership, the partnership is to file one} report as a partnership, with the partners’ names and citizenship listed
on the back of the form. Occasionally, however, two people will file as individuals, each filing a separate .
report on the same land with a partial interest of, for example, 49 percent listed on each form. Because it is _
not always possible to distinguish separate reports for the same Jand, two such individuals cannot be
differentiated from one partnership. This may occur when there is no legal partnership but individuals own
the land as tenants in common. If they file together on one form, they are automatically considered a part-
nership. If they file separately, they are generally considered individuals. Therefore, the data on individuals
and partnerships and the number of reported parcels should be used with caution.



Foreign Ownership Of U.S. Agricultural Land
Through December 31, 1997

Charles H. Barnard and Jacqueline Stokes*

A Report to the President and the Congress
Under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978

Introduction

Foreign individuals and entities reported owning 14.3 million acres of U.S. agricultural land as of December
31, 1997. This is slightly more than 1 percent of all privately owned U.S. agricultural land and
approximately 0.63 percent of all land in the United States.

Summary of the Act and Regulations

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA), ' as implemented by the regulations, ”
required all foreign persons holding agricultural land as of February 1, 1979, to file a report of such holdings
with the Secretary of Agriculture by August 1, 1979. All foreign persons who acquire or dispose of
agricultural land thereafter are required to report such transactions within 90 days of the transfer. In addition,
any foreign person who holds land that subsequently becomes or ceases to be agricultural land or any person
who holds agricultural land who subsequently becomes or ceases to be a foreign person must also file a report
within 90 days of such change.

AFIDA specifies in detail the information to be supplied by the foreign person and provides that necessary
additional information may be obtained by the Secretary. The information required to be reported consists of
the legal name and address of the foreign person; citizenship, if an individual; if not an individual or a
government, nature of the legal entity, including the entity’s country of creation and principal place of
business; type of interest; legal description; acreage; purchase price or any other consideration given; intended
use; where applicable, information about the representative of the foreign person; how the interest in the land
was transferred; the relationship of the foreign owner to the operator; type of rental agreement, if any; and the
date the interest in the land was transferred. In the case of a disposition, the party disposing of the interest is
also required to give the legal name and address of the purchaser; citizenship, if the purchaser is an individual;
and if the purchaser is not an individual or government, the nature of the entity, country of creation, and
principal place of business. Any change in the legal name or address of the foreign person must also be

*Charles H. Barnard, Agricultural Economist and Jacqueline Stokes, Statistical Assistant, co-authored this report.
Joyce Su provided data processing assistance. John Jones assisted with graphics. All are with the Resource
Economics Division, Economic Research Service. Washington and field-office staff of the Farm Service Agency
collect the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act reports and maintain a public file in Washington, DC.

"Pub. L. No. 95-460, 7 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3508 (1988).

> 7CER. §§ 781.1-.6 (1994). See 7 CFR. §§ 2.21(b)(29), .27(a)(12), .65(a)(30), and .84(a)(7) (1994) for the
delegation of authority. .



Table 40--Acquisitions and dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land, by date,
January. 1981 - December 1997---Continued

Acquisitions Dispositions
Parcels ' Value Parcels : Value
Date ‘Acres Acres
Teported | (Number) 1], Feported |. (Number) (1,000
(Number) . (1,000 dollars) "| (Number) : dollars) *
Total 950, 1,606,946. 885,842 485, 369,252 _ 307,019
1991 ; . .
January 57. 17,186 58,286 30 6,312 5,757
February 48 14,023 39,317 39 5,369 11,772
March 55 45,141 48,777 20 106,049 16,612
April . 4 55,930 36,676 46° 50,286 19,846
May 108 21,890 37,650 30 5,740 2,765
June 50 77,799 33,855 36 190,028 23,669
July : 156 133,253 170,065, 16 7,352 8,828
August . 54 22,687 17,475 36 4,424 6,023
September 39 22,214 29,678 21 3,495 “9,025
October 35 7,589 8,583 34 16,867 7,243
November 39 8,543 14,493 30 8,082 3,294
December 78 38,048, 38,965 68 162,716 27,013
Multiple i) 1) ie) 1 60 914
Total “ 760 464,303 533,820 407. 566,780 142,761
1992 a ,
January . 81 12,734 19,480 53 35,518 31,318
February 49 8,642 29,902 26 5,267. 4,683
March 50 42,514 41,476 55 28,884 17,374
April 50 23,211 43,721 69 15,121, 10,914
May 35 43,373 14,239 55 70,463 10,521
June 34 18,730 16,472 57 28,014 14,742
July 52 38,298 50,493 60 56,186 15,267
August . 47 82,631 97,812 58 52,992 103,953
September . 53 158,469 58,155 59 329,075 17,110
October . 51 18,358. 36,788 50 42,537 7,299
November . 114 108,283 48,644 258 50,197 13,121
December 75 47,573 34,064 87 61,070 40,378
Multiple O te) te) 1 19 291
Total 691. 602,816. 491,246. 888. 775,343 286,971
1993
January 40 10,617 21,273 59 20,134 15,460
February 39 9,789 12,986 60 14,797 19,490
March 78 75,080 53,808 75 37,447 19,953
April 62 19,286 24,852 58. 29,393 21,184
May 51 90,262 41,218 51 128,442 33,984
June 56 30,528 22/830 55 33,548 15,794
July 82 164,848 23,497 60, 14,113 8,064
August 32 25,683 6,440 84 17,486 8,217
September 58 32,307 42,191 60 19,378 15,780
October 39 29,494 21,435 67. 208,026 44,895
November 29 8,061 7,123 55 30,250 30,144 |
December 57 311,194 86,129 73 39,367 33,052
Total 623 807,149. 363,782 757 592,381 266,017
1994 ‘
January 39 54,562 34,520 34 91,994 19,075
February 19 8,249 . 5,640 24 2,021 2,010
March 40 14,017 45,145 31 30,423 12,701
April 45 8,144 14,275 38 12,470 15,614

51



Table 23--U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by country of foreign owner,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

Owners Parcels Acres Value
| reporting reported (1,000
Country | (Number) (Number) (Number) dollars) *
1 7
Austria | 1 1 12 7
British Virgin Islands | 2 2 1,305 954
Canada | 24 29 2,816 4,845
China ;- 1 1 77 275
Denmark | 2 2 485 133
France 2 3 30 243,
Germany 22 32 8,778 31,646
Gibraltar | 1 1 200 4,257
India 1 1 50 150
Italy 2 2 472 416
Japan 4 4 1,313 2,142
Mexico 1 1 268 120
Netherlands 5 5 857 2,427
Netherlands Antilles 2 2 546 852
Pakistan 1 4 464 767
Switzerland 5 5 3,403 4,001
United Kingdom 3 4 1,897 1,037
Venezuela 1 1 119 392
Subtotal ? 80 100 23,092 54,664
US/Austria 4 5 12,986 6,896
US/Bahamas 1 1 23 120
US/Belgium 1 1 13 39
US/Canada 18 57 389,063 271,454
US/China 1 1 251 313
US/Colombia 3 6 2,305 6,180
US/Finland 1 7 560 132
US/France 5 12 11,462 9,721
US/Germany 14 69 6,469 11,269
US/Ireland 1 2 184 1,248
US/Japan 9 23 10,039 11,915
US/Liechtenstein 2 6 4,040 10,677.
US/Luxembourg 1 4 8,202 7,077
US/Mexico 1 1 1,671 920
US/Netherlands 1 1 75 58
US/Saudi Arabia 3 3 637 3,935
US/South Africa 1 1 510 1,750
US/Spain 1 9 3,430 1,989
US/Switzerland 6 10 6,548 7,963
US/Turkey 1 1 310 392
US/United Kingdom 15 32 33,533, 24,127
Subtotal * 90 252 492,311 378,175
Total all
land acquisitions 170 352 515,403 432,839
' Value is purchase price or nonpurchase Price (estimated value).
? Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
* Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.



Table 11--Use of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by country of foreign owner,

December 31; 1997

(Acres)
|
| Other Other non-,
Country, Cropland | Pasture Forest agriculture agriculture Total

Argentina 3,428 8,132 788 184 136 12,668
Australia 1,822 1,586 1,001 2,867 983 8,259
Austria 7,293 2,577 6,215 702 285 17,072
Bahamas 10,979 14,573 7,749 2,384 625 36,310
Belgium 7,513 53,632 2,041 2,023 876 66,085
Belize 25 235 232 55 2 549
Bermuda 6,109 17,122 47,227 1,678 1,424 73,560
Bolivia 10 O 0 1 ie) 1
Brazil 1,226 8,528 139 431 12 10,336
British Virgin

Islands 5,692 113,680 58,071 3,147 389 180,979
Canada 174,54) 168,362 1,411,267 64,378 24,696 1,843,244
Cayman Islands 6,512 23,357 2,991 908 405 34,173
Chile 503 607 390 544 1 2,055
China 543 218 27 2 43 833
Colombia 1,278 9,910 47. 323 43 11,601
Costa Rica 7,005 4,150 120 167 2,393 13,835
Croatia 150 O° 10 -0 oO - 160
Cuba 39 0 3 12 4 58
Cyprus 430 0 0 86 0 516
Czech Republic 167 153 0 27 0 347
Denmark 5,785 948 6,421 118 494 | 13;766
Dominican Republic 1,987 i) 1 120 2,108
Ecuador 207 92 te) 646 6 951
Egypt 478 563 144 335 45 1,562
El Salvador 29 le) 50 O 49 128
Finland 0 te) ie) 80 ie) 80
France 25,293 82,655 10,777 7,834 3,319 129,878
Gambia i) 294 0 te) 0 294
Germany 314,928 146,914 228,329 51,239 15,088 756,498
Gibraltar 137 363 0 177 1 678
Greece 97 58,765 174 85 96 60,091
-Guatemala 413 212 363 35 79 1,102
Guyana i) 0 0 35 0 35
Honduras 867 32 5 60 54 1,018
Hong Kong 3,931 2,723 1,622 4,055 111 12,442
Hungary oO te) 103 te) 103
India 390 94 840 462 48 1,834
Indonesia 718 295 - 6 403 1 1,423
Iran 1,063 552 521 99 108 2,343
Ireland 1,413 6,583 20 24 2,366 10,406
Israel 245 349 217 129 W 951
Italy 4,784 13,410 1,516 6,218 13,253 39,181
Ivory Coast i" ) 80 39 ) 119
Jamaica i) 291 te) 273 3 567
Japan 27,531 154,106 2,909 16,228 6,593, 207,367
Jordan 321 855 273 129 2 1,580
Kampuchea 27 0 . 0 i) 4 31
Korea (South) 197 122 363 1,006 8 1,696
Kuwait : 801 18,984 323 67 13 20,188
Laos 0 16 10 5 ) 31
Lebanon 4,161 3,880 1,833 1,747 963 12,584
Liberia 1,062 23,721 4,298 1,150 860 31,091
Liechtenstein 67,366 37,769 17,077 6,824 4,201 133,237
Luxembourg 2,138 489 151 te) 302 3,080
Malaysia 1,735 6,211 i) 0 2 7,948
Mexico 23,396 145,679 2,903 3,301 6,064 181,343
Morocco 433 83 7 482 30 1,035
Namibia 102 te) 0 i) 4 106
Nepal o 60 8 () 0 68
Netherlands 40,949 35,016 12,687 15,646 7,644 111,942
Netherlands Antilles 138,730 80,771 50,855 57,534 18,202 346,092
New Zealand 235 13,450 224 7 95 14,011
Nicaragua 0 970 248 60 100 1,378



Table 28--U:S. forest'and other nonagricultural land acquisitions, by country of foreign owner,
. January 1- December 31, 1997 :

Owners Parcels
; Acres Value
Country. . reporting reported 1
(Number) (Number) (Number) (1,000 dollars).
Austria 1 1 12 7
British Virgin Islands_ 1 1 1,257 689
Canada 4 8 821 520
Germany 6 6 3,839. 22,239
Subtotal ? 12 16 5,929 23,455
US/Austria 3 4 12,449 6,488
US/Bahamas 1 1 23 120
US/Canada 6 31 288,161 155,578
US/Finland 1 7 560 132
US/France on 2 4 1,235 547
US/Germany 6 45 2,605 2,309
US/Japan 1 od 4 43
US/Luxembourg ' 1 3 7,820 6,958
US/Suadi Arabia 2 2 356. 2,778.
US/United Kingdom 6 9 4,318 3,700
Subtotal * 29 107 317,531 178,653
Total 41 123 323,460 202,108
‘ Value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value).
? Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
* Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders. :
Table 29--U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land acquisitions, by type of foreign owner,
January 1 - December 31, 1997
(Number)
Parcels with
Owners Arce Acreage
Owner ; Parcels reported Acres partial interests “. 2
reporting reported ' equivalent
Individual 5 5 474 te) 474
Corporation 34 112 320,810 7 310,002
Partnership 1 5 630 1) 630
Other 1 1 1,546 0 1,546
Total 41 123 323,460 7 312,652

‘ Parcels with partial interests are parcels owned only in part by the foreign investor; that is, a percentage interest less than 100

percent.

? Acreage equivalent equals the total acreage reported multiplied by the percentage held by the foreign owner.

39



Foreign persons from Canada own 2,823,402 acres, or 44 percent, of the reported forest landholdings.
Unidentifiable third-tier foreign persons own 1 percent of the forest land. Several companies with large holdings
account for much of the forest acreage: two Canadian companies with 1,308,796 acres, four U.S./Canada
corporations with 916,334 acres, a U.S./France corporation with 914,644 acres, two U.K. companies and one
U.K. partnership with 398,759 acres, and a U.S./Netherlands corporation with 355,870 acres.

Foreign persons from Germany own the most cropland, 471,168 acres, or 19 percent, followed by Canada,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands Antilles, with an additional 36 percent of the acreage.
Unidentifiable third-tier parties own 4 percent of the cropland.

Foreign persons from the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Mexico own 1,882,655 acres, or 46 percent,
of pasture land. Foreign persons from Japan, the British Virgin Islands, the Netherlands, the Netherlands
Antilles, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Panama own an additional 36 percent, or 1,455,572 acres.

The largest group of owners of other agricultural land are foreign persons from Canada, Germany, and the
Netherlands Antilles, with 36 percent of the acres. They are followed by foreign persons from Japan, France; the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Sweden who own 354,063 acres, or 41
percent.

When analyzing foreign-owned agricultural land (see definition on page 2), it is sometimes useful to separate
foreign owners of farmland from foreign owners of other types of-agricultural land. This can be done by
identifying foreign owners who own only forest land or only forest land and other nonagricultural land. Foreign
owners of only forest or only forest and other nonagricultural land account for 40 percent of all the foreign-
owned U.S. agricultural land (tables 1 and 12). The remaining 60 percent is primarily farmland, although it
includes some forest and/or other nonagricultural land commonly reported as part of the farmland holding (table
11).

The average parcel size for tracts with only forest or only forest and other nonagricultural land is 1,873 acres
(table 12). Except for Maine (with 52 percent of the acreage, the uniqueness of which has been noted
previously), the only forest or only forest and other nonagriculture acres are concentrated in the South.
Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida account for 21 percent. Holdings in
Michigan, Minnesota, and New York accounted for another 13 percent of the acres, while California, Oregon,
and Washington account for 7 percent. Foreign persons from Canada own 46 percent of the foreign-owned
acreage of only U.S. forest or only forest and other nonagricultural lands (table 13). Foreign persons from
France and the United Kingdom own an additional 29 percent.

Individuals own 16 percent of the parcels but only 2 percent of the acres (table 14). Corporations reported
holding 73 percent of the parcels, representing 92 percent of the acreage. The remaining 11 percent of the
parcels and 6 percent of the acres are held by partnerships, estates, trusts, and others. When partial interests are
taken into account, the acreage equivalent is 915,568 acres less than the acres for which reports were filed.

Owners of parcels with less than 1,000 acres, 79 percent of all the owners, own 32 percent of the parcels
covering only 2 percent of the forest or forest and other nonagricultural land (table 15). The remaining 21
percent of the owners, who purchased parcels with. 1,000 acres or more, own 68 percent of the parcels covering
98 percent of these lands.

Intended Use

Concern has been expressed about farmland purchased and converted to uses other than agricultural production.
Foreign persons do not appear to be proceeding in this direction to any substantial degree. However, the
following data on intended use and tenure, like much of the use and value data, are based on information at the
time of filing; they do not reflect subsequent changes.



United States Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service

1800 M Street, NW
lashington, DC 20036-5831





' :
Table 7--Value of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings, by State, December 31, 1997

State Acres Reported Acres with current | Reported current Adjusted current
and U.S. (Number) value * value reported value ? value *
Territory (1,000) dollars) (Number) (1,000 dollars) (1,000 dollars)
jl :
Alabama 608;065 (409,671 600,614 410,608 516,547
Alaska 195 | 117 195 117 146
Arizona 351,571 (306,976 278,584 315,738 380,378
Arkansas 156,796 | 147,687 154,481 147,347 109,293
California 937,430 1,912,786 883,249 1,931,760 2,270,755
Colorado 728,140 | 436,072 704,171 433,810 565,714
Connecticut 1,216 7A19 1,107 6,200 10,384
Delaware 5,878 17,449 5,610 16,495 33,909
Florida 682,402 1,273,723 660,978 1,414,613 1,887,105
Georgia 504,564 | 452,526 482,090 480,233 604,728
Hawaii 180,073 | 660,801 179,839 659,525 895,489
Idaho 22,920 10,349 22,111 11,125 ~ 17,616
Mlinois 202,607 | 290,887 200,186 294,987 357,495.
Indiana 98,539 | 123,237 97,837 112,364 138,851
lowa 32,923 49,719 31,272 53,305 54,279
Kansas 63,979 35,765 61,735 36,942 38,801
Kentucky 119,617 234,288 114,759 235,364 333,321
Louisiana 346,993 229,045 329,742 233,862 230,786
Maine 3,037,198 287,956 2,967,341 277,382 347,556
Maryland 51,694 134,281 48,519 143,487 230,391
Massachusetts 2,643 6,640 2,458 6,212 7,128
Michigan 315,548 | 103,144 314,271 92,040 119,945
Minnesota 222,835 22,230 94,417 19,086 21,381
Mississippi 201,050 182,245 195,601 180,319 210,608
Missouri 71,291 70,120 66,374 63,315 73,342
Montana 491,084 | 83,594 458,724 84,765 106,097
Nebraska 74,881 10,718 73,401 23,826 24,583
Nevada 436,190 20,453 436,190 20,539 27,962
New Hampshire 18,919 9,203 17,898 8,518 14;434
New Jersey 23,198 91,890 21,228 78,043 189,829
New Mexico 786,463 88,331 751,595 101,534 164,308
New York 286,445 90,099 282,001 94,858 140,618
North Carolina 233,001 241,140 221,678 303,382 393,517
North Dakota 24,081 4,887 21,981 6,743 7,437
Ohio 188,845 184,724 187,619 180,730 213,430
Oklahoma 59,676 23,367 59,676 24,498 26,123
Oregon 232,915 160,237 198,605 168,469 236,073
Pennsylvania 103,669 110,586 103,235, 117,121 168,878
Puerto Rico 839 696 839 938 1,067
Rhode Island 17 600 17 600 696
South Carolina 176,671 177,274 169,020 174,249 209,808
South Dakota 41,747 14,729 36,728 14,083 12,813
Tennessee 91,356 88,263 87,088 81,103 116,979
Texas 1,209,759 1,464,045 1,101,379 1,329,286 1,438,985
Utah 58,476 65,580 57,665 129,983 211,216
Vermont 84,490 81,604 82,627 86,253 148,106
Virginia 129,474 317,708 113,913 311,791 404,026
Washington 192,180 228,185 160,664 231,092 298,207
West Virginia 176,225 128,396 175,823 103,445 129,637
Wisconsin 33,472 49,138 30,858 49,001 61,260
Wyoming 235,539 52,353 235,539 51,994 62,171
Total 14,335,779 11,192,933 13,583,532 11,353,080 14,264,212

' Reported value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value) at time of acquisition.

? Reported current value reflects value at time of reporting after February 1, 1979.

2 Reported current value adjusted to January 1] 1997. Reported current value for holdings acquired in 1997 is unadjusted.



Table 40--Acquisitions and dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land, by date,
January 1981 - December 1997---Continued

Acquisitions Dispositions
Parcels Value Parcels Value
Date Acres Acres
reported | (Number) 1| reported |" (Number) (1,000
(Number) (1,000 dollars) "| (Number) dollars) *
May 69 15,459 19,811 42 7,885 11,067
June 75 50,994 70,831 42 29,884 37,041
July 54 14,098 156,227 47 14,162 24,759
August 68 35,707 90,410 49 14,020 31,104
September . 56 26,637 41,415 53 6,278 9,699
October 47 19,633 36,530 35 21,380 28,153
November 47 43,840 41,830 61 14,085 16,550
December 88 964,261 278,404 71 836,284 101,679
Multiple 1 170 575 1) ie) t¢)
Total 818 1,662,660 1,112,322 656 1,074,821 406,748
1985
January 55 415,007 73,409 27 7,395 9,947
February 29 8,852 24,450 19 12,167 10,931
March 45 13,452 89,034 29 5,798 16,496
April 46 17,054 20,673 47 9,285, 13,290
May 41 60,793 23,631 34 2,844 6,900
June 41 21,651 26,261 26 26,265 11,171
July 50 68,527 51,170 28 2,297 , 3,739
August 36 8,747 15,716 31 7,431 4,109
September 130 1,767,461 46,518 28 193,417 11,736
October 61 17,263 85,535 37 16,747 9,025
November 28 8,878 26,616 18 6,974 7,340
December 139 83,297 71,154 144 37,826 50,159
Multiple 1 439 293 0 te) ie)
Total 702 2,191,421 554,460 468 328,446 154,843
1986
January 47 13,960 63,237 29 5,101 10,111
February 27 9,901 7,095 21 2,661 . 3,419
March 44 36,251 51,541 18 13,070 10,530
April 57 25,778 135,753, 23 5,538 6,195
May 100 1,605,295 131,934 90 1,641,979 22,458
June 101 101,106 50,178 4 18,466 4,559
July 42 27,352 33,478 22 20,734 27,192
August 33 16,351 22,053 34 8,395 15,539
September 34 36,048 58,043 26 3,757 10,088
October 139 240,878 62,971 .37 19,201 8,887
November 48 15,744 18,399 34 11,615 6,831
December 132 53,629 105,899 78 58,789 50,251
Total 804 2,182,293 740,581 453 1,809,306 176,060
1987
January 27 9,694 20,507 26 6,016 8,305
February 32 14,316 39,974 29 6,393 6,821
March 59 139,757 53,054 43 33,646 18,865
April 64 68,547 30,108 73 27,777 30,307
May 40 44,665 30,545 33 10,634 20,567
June 47 203,785 49,532 61 227,011 25,552
July 44 29,408 36,453 35 30,206 14,904
August 47 37,944 28,895 36 7,826 36,191





overstated; that is, all acres in these parcels are not necessarily affected by new tenure arrangements.
Nevertheless, reports for 0.3 percent of the parcels, accounting for 0.3 percent of the acres, indicated that some
tenure arrangements would change. No responses on tenure changes were received for 23 percent of the parcels
containing 16 percent of the acres.

Acquisitions

Foreign persons reported that they had acquired 352 parcels of U.S. agricultural land, covering 515,403 acres
during January 1-December 31, 1997 (tables 18 and 19). Included in these acquisitions data are reports filed by
USS. entities that became foreign during the period. This change occurs when a significant interest or substantial
control in a U.S. entity is subsequently acquired by a foreign person. Consequently, all reported acres are not
necessarily recent land purchases. These acquisitions could include land held for any length of time by a U.S.
entity that recently came within the definition of a foreign person under the act.

The reported acquisitions data should be regarded as preliminary in that they understate the total acreage acquired
by foreign persons during the reporting period. Because foreign persons have a statutory 90 days within which to
report their acquisitions, not all the acquisitions acquired in the 90 days preceding the December 31, 1997,
closing date of this report were received for processing by USDA. Therefore, a number of reports for October,
November, and December are not included here. A further understatement of the acreage acquired by foreign
persons during the reporting period may result from reports not filed within the statutory 90 days and/or are
incomplete. Such reports would not have been processed for inclusion here.

Table 17--Tenure of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural landholdings,
December 31, 1997

(Number)
Tenure Parcels Acres
Current:
Foreign owner 4,190 6,749,646
Manager 1,490 1,687,705
Tenant 5,275 3,726,317
No report 3,448 2,163,681
Combination 12 8,430
Total 14,415 14,335,779
Rental:
Crop 1,248 507,832
Cash 3,385 2,707,343
Both 62 50,058
No report 5,524 4,319,675
Not applicable 4,196 6,750,871
Total 14,415 14,335,779
Intended change:
None 6,578 7,931,661
New 4,458 4,140,490
Both 43 38,213
No report .~ 3,336 2,225,415
Total 14,415 14,335,779



Concentration of Foreign Acquisitions of and

Sixty-niné percent of the acrés acquired during 1997 were in Alabama. An additional '18‘percent of the acquired

acres were in Maine, Georgia, Florida, and\Colorado (table 18).- Eighty-two percent of the acquired acreage was’.

in the South (table 24). Foreign entities from Canada accounted for 85 percent of the acres acquired in the South:
. |

Characteristics of Foreign Owners |

Type of Foreign Owner. Corporations reported acquiring 75 percent of the parcels and 97 percent of acres (table
19). Individuals, partnerships, and trusts each account for 1 percent of the acres. When partial interests of
foreign investors are taken into account, the 515, 403 acres drop to an acreage equivalent of 501,824 acres.

Corporations acquired an average of 1,878 acres per parcel, or 4,833 acres per owner, compared with individuals
who acquired an average 121 acres per parcel, or 140 acres per holder. Partnerships reported acquisitions
averaging 321 acres per parcel, or 401 acres per owner; and trusts, estates, and others reported 301 acres per
parcel and 640 acres per owner. | :

The largest-acreage acquired by individuals during the period was reported for Ohio (table 20). Organizations
reported acquiring the largest acreage in Alabama and Maine. :

Size of Acquisition. Owners of parcels with 300 or more acres (39 percent of the owners) acquired
approximately 98 percent of the acres, and owners of parcels with less than 300 acres (61 percent of the owners)
acquired the remaining 2 percent of the acres (table 21). All parcels of 300 or more acres accounted for 88
percent of the total value. The value per acre, however, is concentrated in the reports of holders of less than 300
acres--$5,553 per acre, compared with $754 per acre for holdings of 300 or more acres.

Table 18--U.S. agricultural land acquisitions of foreign owners, by State,
January 1 - December 31, 1997
annus Acres Value a state Acres Value
Territory (Number) (1,000! dollars) * Territory (Number) (1,000 dollars) *

Alabama 357,773 254,045]| || New Hampshire 1,893 1,519
Arizona 5,587 4,978}| || New Jersey 3 50
Arkansas 1,162 753})||New York - 566 - 410
California 5,395 . 15,095}}|/ North Carolina 666 832
Colorado 20,158 19,001 |] North Dakota 840 152
Connecticut 334 2,750]| || Ohio 4,163 10,169
Florida 21,405 25,773]|||Oklahoma * 1,330 646
Georgia 23,557 18,310}]|/ Oregon 445 2,973
Idaho 219 570}}|| Pennsylvania 314 3,744
Illinois : 352 498] || South Carolina 4,214 21,296
Indiana 998 2,492] Tennessee . 30 180
Kansas 395 1311] || Texas 11,286 11,738
Kentucky 809 4,935]| || Utah 393 963
Louisiana 553 760} || Vermont 1,829 1,462
Maine 26,592 1,280} }| Virginia 445 1,544
Massachusetts 614. 5,090]| | Washington 3,299 11,160
Michigan 122 247||||West Virginia 684 1,353
Minnesota . 560 . 132}} |] Wisconsin 1,751 1,866
Mississippi 2,016 2,752] | Wyoming 12,211 1,115
Nebraska 440 75

| Total 515,403 432,839

" Value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value).

30



Table 37--Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by country of foreign owner,
January 1 - December 3i, 1997

Owners Parcels : p
it Selling price
reporting reported Acres ~ 1
Country (Number) (Number) ~ (Number) (1,000 dollars)

Austria 1 1 320 116
Bermuda 2 2 55 1,521
British Virgin Islands 1 1 363 508
Canada 20 4 7,162 3,827
Cayman Islands 2 3 2,450 4,871
Egypt 1 1 605 650
France 3 3 385. 135
Germany 20 24 5,948 9,799
Hong Kong 1 2 1,237 975
Italy 1 6 221 217
Japan 6 1 1,172 3,320
Korea (South) 1 1 159 91
Liechtenstein 1 1 57 83
Netherlands 3 6 1;320 3,016
Netherlands Antilles 1 1 131 163
Pakistan 1 1 80 208
Switzerland 6 7 1,054 1,485
United Kingdom 6 9 2,240 2,327
Venezuela 1 1 208 320
Multiple 2 2 1,619 694

Subtotal * 80 124 26,786 34,326
US/Australia 1 1 45 77
US/Austria 3 5 2,587 1,666
US/Bahamas . 1 1 197 1,258
US/British Virgin

Islands 1 1 640 400
US/Canada 8 35 235,744 4,856
US/Costa Rica 1 2 40 125
US/Finland 1 1 40 4
US/France 3 7 1,692 1,616
US/Germany 15 70 5,514 5,860
US/Hong Kong 1 2 641 218
US/Ireland 1 2 22 315
US/Japan 2 13 4,198 7,776
US/Liechtenstein 1 5 2,045 3,954
US/Mexico 2 14 552 3,177
US/Netherlands 1 1 797 2,597
US/Netherlands Antilles 5 8 5,635 4,882
US/Panama 2 2 3,920 6,211
US/Peru 1 2 344 448
US/Philippines 1 1 1,035 835
US/Singapore 1 1 196 850
US/South Africa 1 3 3,160 1,920
US/Sweden 4 1 107 70
US/Switzerland 9 16 16,215 15,603
US/United Kingdom 17 32 13,229 19,233
US/Venezuela 1 1 89 855
US/multiple 1 1 230 86

Subtotal * 82 228 298,914 84,892
Total all

land dispositions 162 352 325,700 119,218

* Selling price is value at time of disposition.
? Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
* Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.

45



Table 9--Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by U.S. region,

December 31, 1997---Continued

-(Number)
Country South | West Northeast Midwest
Parcels Acres. Parcels Acres Parcels Acres Parcels Acres
|
Oman 4 } 192 1 262 0 oO O 0
Pakistan 0 | oO 10 1,366 te) O oO Oo
Panama 115 80,307 24 29,402 6 2,622 8 7,090
Peru 17 182 1 81 1 15 1 30
Philippines 14 1,358 24 2,424 0 to) 3 156
Poland 0 i) 0 to) 1 147 0 0
Portugal 2 510 8 3,251 1 385 0 O
Russia 2 21 0 0 4 761 0 0
St Vincent 3 1,318 oO i} 1 1,319 0 :0
Saudi Arabia 43 | 16,470 12 11,197 1 3,628 5 661
Senegal 1 | 10 0 0 0 0 0 i}
Singapore 0) | 0 3 504 0 0 0 0
Somalia 0 | 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
South Africa 3 p. 2,012 i) i) 3 461 2. 200
Spain 14 3,114 8 1,482 oO i) 5 997
Sweden 15 3,679 22 50,728 3 313 10 2,086
Switzerland 345 | 136,037 90 113,902 51 18,134 67 27,769
Syria 5 | 2,161 1 194 2 334 oO oO
Taiwan 14 | 5,306 19 2,481 oO 0 6 1,065
Tanzania 2 | 10,143 tt} O 0 O Oo. to)
Thailand 3 580 3 978 1 164 3 113
Trinidad & Tobago 2 36 i) 0 0 0 1 58
Turkey 0 0 1 38 0 it} Oo- 0
Turks Islands 1 100 6 798 1 160 5 2,234
United Arab Emirates 6 1,940 5 519 to) i} 2 . 219
United Kingdom 161 152,286 82 172,076 54 84,084 90. 95,397
Uruguay 2 1,570 2 320 O 0 4 8,917
Venezuela 102 9,681 1 537 15 2,550 25 8,921
Vietnam 1 152 0 0 0 0 O 0
Zimbabwe 1 230 i) 0 0 0 0 0
Multiple 37 9,197 19 39,513 5 1,031 6 1,554
Third tier a 10,564 4 1,994 i) oO 3. 940
Subtotal ' 3,571 1,790,545 1,770 = 1,661,029 1,311 1,651,347 1,236 483,909
US/Andorra i} 0 1 3,741 i) oO 0 oO
US/Argentina 4 1,757, 1 1,092 i} oO 3 1,207
US/Australia 5 1,828 2 85 0 0 4 3,151
US/Austria 37 34,159 6 16,083 7 332 0O 0
US/Bahamas 22 30,360 13 27,527 6 4,175 5 4,207
US/Barbados 0 i) 1 4 i} 0 0 0
US/Belgium 64 31,876 9 35,554 14 16,138 43 10,432
US/Bermuda 6 2,151 5 7,553 7 1,654 2 170
US/Brazil 7 3,533 0 0 0 0 52 9,586
US/British Virgin

_ Islands 20 8,646 9 152,025 1 137 1 141,907
US/Canada 558 :| 803,530 286 286,568 104 759,967 73 18,944
US/Cayman Islands 17 29,040 7 2,914 1 250 1 70
US/Chile 1 19 3 9,929 0 0 Oo. 0
Us/China 8 12,769 1 322 O 0 0 i)
US/Colombia 18 13,580 0 0 1 160 0 0
_US/Costa Rica 2 807 0 CY) 0 O 0 0
US/Denmark. 6 1,335 5 5,636 0 0 6 1,347
US/Dominican Republic 1 589 i) 0 oO 0 0 oO
US/Ecuador 3 1,632 0 oO 0O 0 0 0
US/Egypt 3 710 16 2,351 0 ° ) 0
US/EI Salvador 6 607 0 0 0 0 0 O
US/Finland 4 2,152 0 oO 0O Oo. 7 192,905
US/France 316 157,279 54 13,304 a 934,825. 46 26,782
US/Germany 769 302,764 107 357,869 160 44,790 199 176,833
US/Greece 1 147 2 4,957 1 145 0 0
US/Guatemala 3 412 0 o 0 0 oO 0
US/Guyana 2 334 0 0 i) to) 0 0
US/Honduras 1 37 0 te) 0 0 0 i}



Table 40--Acquisitions and dispositions of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land, by date,
| January 1981 - December 1997

Acquisitions © Dispositions
i]
Date Parcels Acres Value Parcels Actes Value
reported ‘ reported
(Number) (Number) —[(1,000 dollars) "| (Number) (Number) & ja) 1

1981
January 154 | 67,211 106,439 53 44,136 29,207
February 152 44,004 87,272 37 11,226 17,754
March 284 2,489,023 1,922,653 44 105,183 31,220
April 177 105,803 127,461 56 50,616 35,377
May 188 144,732 224,143 55 10,853 17,352
June 197 115,763 111,843 60 50,818 35,890
July 176 137,844 183,462 55 61,668 41,815
August 483 725,206 295,961 46 26,429 58,717
September 156 | 50,684 104,517 40 5,287 8,718
October 159 111,397 66,286 47 18,190 13,804
November 157 75,567 77,122 50 23,154 18,752
December 149 113,428 108,537 61 31,421 35,779
Multiple 7 1,846 2,018 1 1 204
Total 2,439 4,182,508 3,417,714 605 438,992 344,589

1982
January 193 92,524 156,961 65 33,098 44,971
February 103 51,792 73,947 36 25,870 17,294
March 144 53,674 92,623 37 12,917 13,464
‘April 122 55,224 67,241 38 28,722 20,708
May 119 84,260 65,485 39 9,156 26,175
June 142 80,027 66,140 47 29,471 39,797
July 136 70,556 87,916 40 11,633 19,168
August 109 192,369 98,223 31 15,860 23,957
September 78 47,116 35,028 30 24,609 10,719
October 98 38,649 34,542 43 2,830 2,727
November 91 126,089 158,751 39 19,720 66,027
December 92 36,484 55,906 58 16,699 22,828
Multiple 7 5,552 3,875 0 O O
Total 1,434 934,316 996,638 503 230,585 307,835

1983
January 98 31,593 59,186 30 12,705 14,841
February 79 45,927 47,407 37 125,249 23,851
March 79 22,321 46,244 33 8,104 15,202
April 112 92,058 59,255 71 26,568 24,706
May 118 37,318 67,502 69 27,507 18,535
June 74 29,725 56,413 59 7,096 41,642
July 87 46,636 46,979 54 18,700 27,779
August 71 33,826 30,901 53 34,153 23,677
September 71 104,823 98,673 40 11,272 12,203
October 48 19,091 27,416 4 4,571 28,029
November 78 55,184 325,405 61 176,802 290,889
December 79 32,502 64,826 75 15,809 34,139
Total 994 551,004 930,207 623 468,536 555,493

1984
January 117 318,592 138,527 127 55,458 56,750
February 44 19,238 51,288 27 13,920 22,447
March 69 78,337 90,322 52 26,609 24,878
April 83 | 75,694 96,152 50 34,856 42,621

48





| Preface
This report is made pursuant to section 5 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978,
which, among other things, requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare an analysis of foreign ownership
of U.S. agricultural land. The act requires an annual report to thé President and Congréss on a calendar-year
basis. This report covers information received through December 31, 1997.
: ae ted y

Conitents

|
Jo
|
|
|
|

List of Tables.

Summary. vi
Introduction 1
Summary of the Act and Regulations. 1
Definitions. 2
Analysis of Data Reported Under the Act. 4

| Holdings.

Program Costs and Penalties...

Appendix: Report Form FSA-153.



Table 26--Use of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by country of foreign owner,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

(Acres)
Other Other non-
_ Country Cropland Pasture Forest agriculture agriculture Total

Austria oO te) 12 te) te) 12
British Virgin Islands 20 28 1,257 ie) i} 1,305
Canada 1,263 471 842 112 128 2,816
China 70 te) i) 2 5 7
Denmark 153 318 14 ie) ie) 485
France 30 le) oO te) 0 30
Germany 3,605 1,115 3,880 30 148 8,778
Gibraltar 0 200 i) 0 0 200
India i) 10 0 35 5 50
Italy . 310 24 137 0 1 472
Japan 928 330 21 26 8 1,313
Mexico 94 174 oO te) te) 268
Netherlands 786 18 Oo 1 52 857
Netherlands Antilles 428 30 8 ie) 80 546
Pakistan 464 0 o ie) le) 464
Switzerland 1,654 1,460 287 0 2 3,403
United Kingdom 983 910 0 0 4 1,897
Venezuela 113 0 (0) 6 0 119

Subtotal ' 10,901 5,088. 6,458 212 433 23,092
US/Austria 537 O 12,449 0 i) 12,986
US/Bahamas i) 1) 23 0 oO 23
US/Belgium 13 i) oO 0 i) 13
US/Canada 1,880 350 382,304 1,026 3,503 389,063
US/China O° 151 0 100 O 251
US/Colombia 0 2,305 0 te) O 2,305
US/Finland i) 0 560 0 0 560
US/France 7,422 0 1,874 1,835 331 11,462
US/Germany 2,008 29 3,776 579 77 6,469
US/Ireland 9 175 (¢) oO i) 184
US/Japan 8,546 483 4 10 959 10,039
US/Liechtenstein 37 0 0 0 280 4,040
US/Luxembourg 121 0 7,337 i) 744 8,202
US/Mexico 1,671 0 ie) i) 0 1,671
US/Netherlands 50 25 te) 0 0 75
US/Saudi Arabia ie) 0 356 281 0 637
US/South Africa 0 to) 0 0 510 510
US/Spain 2,133 354 5 868 70 3,430
US/Switzerland 3,974 - 528 1,628 246 172 6,548
US/Turkey 250 60 (¢) O ) 310
US/United Kingdom 3,270 25,561 4,413 112 177 33,533

Subtotal * 35,644 30,021 414,766 5,057 6,823 492,311
Total all

land acquisitions 46,545 35,109 421,224 5,269 7,256 515,403

' Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.

37



Table 24--Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by U.S. region,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
South West Northeast Midwest
Country Parcels Acres Parcels Acres :Parcels Acres Parcels Acres
reported reported reported . reported

Austria ie) i} ie) ie) 1 12 0 ie)
British Virgin Islands 2 1,305 0 O i?) te) 0 i)
Canada 1 34 13 1,044 13 1,539 2 199
China 0 0 1 7 0 i} 0O i)
Denmark 1 45 te) i) te) ie) 1 440
France 3 30 0 (0) te) (e) 0. )
Germany 16 2,500 2 2,880 1 74 13 3,324
Gibraltar te) 0 1 200 0 0 0 to)
India 0 te) 1 50 0 ie) 0 0
Italy 1 20 ie) O 0 0 1 452
Japan 1 183 3 1,130 i) ie) le) le)
Mexico 1 268 ie) 0 i) 0 0 te)
Netherlands 1 47 2 464 Oo ie) 2 346
Netherlands Antilles 1 38 1 508 0 0 0 0
Pakistan ie) te) 4 464 oO O le) le)
Switzerland 4 1,740 1 1,663 0 i) 0 0
United Kingdom 0 i) 2 1,057 0 0 2 840
Venezuela 0 te) 0 (e) 0 0 1 119
Subtotal ' 32 6,210 31 9,537 15 1,625 22 5,720
US/Austria 5 12,986 le) ie) te) te) ie) ie)
US/Bahamas 0 oO 0 i) 1 23 0 0
US/Belgium te) 0 ie) te) ie) te) 1 13
US/Canada 29 360,883 14 1,448 12 26,366 2 366
US/China 1 251 ie) 0 te) ie) 0 0
US/Colombia 6 2,305 0 Oo Oo ie} Oo ie)
US/Finland te) te) te) i) ie) 0 vA 560
US/France 9 11,359 1 29 2 74 0 i)
US/Germany 45 3,748 10 491 6 143 8 2,087
US/Ireland 2 184 ie) O te) ie) 0 i)
US/Japan 14 5,558 7 4,391 ie) ie) 2 90
US/Liechtenstein 1 80 5 3,960 0 0 0 0
US/Luxembourg 4 8,202 0 oO i) 0 i) i)
US/Mexico 1 1,671 ie) oO te) ie) oO O
US/Netherlands te) te) 0 i) 0 0 1 75
US/Saudi Arabia 3 637 ie) i) 0 0 Oo 0
US/South Africa 0 te) 1 510 te) ie) O ie)
US/Spain Q 3,430 i) te) 0 0 te) O
US/Switzerland 7 4,962 i) 0 2 1,266 1 320
US/Turkey 1 310 O te) O 0 ie) i}
US/United Kingdom 15 3,124 9 27,341 5 2,648 3 420

Subtotal 2 152 419,690 47 38,170 28 30,520 25 3,931
Total all :

land acquisitions 184 425,900 78 47,707 43 32,145 47 9,651

‘ Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.

35



Table 1--U.S. agricultural landholdings of foreign owners, by State, December 31, 1997

Total land Privately owned Foreign-owned Proportion of

area agricultural agricultural foreign-owned to

State of State! land ? land privately owned

(1,000 acres) (1,000 acres) (Acres) agricultural land

(Percent)

Alabama 32,491 28,620 608,065 21
Alaska 365,333 500 195 NEG.
Arizona 72,645 10,502 351,571 3.3
Arkansas 33,330 27,981 | 156,796 0.6
California 100,031 44,042 937,430 21
Colorado 66,301 36,618 728,140 2.0
Connecticut 3,118 1,884 1,216 0.1
Delaware 1,237 972 5,878 0.6
Florida 34,658 23,975 682,402 2.8
Georgia 37,156. 32,338 504,564 1.6
Hawaii 4,112 1,998 180,073 9.0
Idaho 52,744 15,256 22,920 0.2
Illinois 35,613 31,633 202,607 0.6
Indiana 22,996 20,493 98,539 0.5
lowa 35,818 33,582 32,923 0.1
Kansas 52,338 49,780 63,979 0.1
Kentucky 25,388 22,578 119,617 0.5
Louisiana 28,494 24,523 346,993 1.4
Maine - 19,837 18,065 3,037,198 16.8
Maryland 6,296 4,510 51,694 14
Massachusetts 5,008 2,664 2,643 0.1
Michigan 36,451 25,742 315,548 1.2
Minnesota 50,911 36,343 222,835 0.6
Mississippi 30,229 26,713 201,050 0.8
Missouri 44,125 39,289 71,291 0.2
Montana 93,048 53,052 491,084 0.9
Nebraska 49,052 45,444 74,881 0.2
Nevada 70,332 8,248 436,190 5.3
New Hampshire 5,756 4,251 18,919 0.4
New Jersey 4,779 2,438 23,198 1.0
New Mexico 77,654 35,705 786,463 2.2
New York 30,321 21,893 286,445 1.3
North Carolina 31,260 26,392 233,001 0.9
North Dakota 44,352 39,214 24,081 0.1
Ohio. 26,243 22,519 188,845 0.8
Oklahoma 43,939 38,500 59,676 0.2
Oregon 61,558 28,022 232,915 0.8
Pennsylvania 28,728 21,518 103,669 0.5
Puerto Rico NA NA 839 NEG.
Rhode Island 675 357 17 NEG.
South Carolina 19,330 15,851 176,671 141
South Dakota 48,609 39,556 41,747 0.1
Tennessee 26,339 21,873 91,356 0.4
Texas 167,691 154,417 1,209,759 0.8
Utah 52,527 11,892 58,476 0.5
Vermont 5,935, 5,153 84,490 1.6
Virginia 25,410 20,963 129,474 0.6
Washington 42,567 22,530 192,180 0.9
West Virginia 15,436 13,531 176,225 1.3
Wisconsin 34,833 26,729 33,472 0.1
Wyoming 62,073 24,459 235,539 1.0
Total 2,265,107 1,265,105 14,335,779 11

‘1980 land area from Geography Division, Census Bureau.
? Privately held land based on A. Daugherty, unpublished data, U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv., 1987. Estimate of total land less
public, Indian, transportation, and urban lands. Includes forest land, pastureland, cropland, range, and miscellaneous.

NEG. = Negligible.

NA = Not available.


Table 39--Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by country of foreign owner and use,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

(Acres)
Country Cropland Pasture Forest Other Other non- Total
agriculture agriculture
Austria 305 ie) 0 0 15 320
Bermuda 41 ie) 0 0 14 55
British Virgin Islands 0 0 363 1) i) 363
Canada 2,329 293 3,335 841 364 7,162
Cayman Islands 1,425 764 0 261 i) 2,450
Egypt 0 359 243 ) 3 605
France 225 80 70 0 10 385
Germany 3,311 1,533 949 123 32 5,948
Hong Kong 1) 1) 1,237 0 ie) 1,237
Italy 10 0 211 te) 0 221
Japan 1,004 102 22 0 44 1,172
Korea (South) 85 64 10 0 ie) 159
Liechtenstein 0 0 44 0 13 57
Netherlands 922 337 0 O 61 1,320
Netherlands Antilles 120 8 O O 3 131
Pakistan 80 ie) 0 i) oO 80
Switzerland 786 0 99 119 50 1,054
United Kingdom 1,226 711 220 63 20. 2,240
Venezuela 208 0 i) Oo ie) *208
Multiple 0 0 1,616 0 3 1,619
Subtotal * 12,077 4,251 8,419 1,407 632 26,786
US/Australia Oo to) 0 te) 45 45
US/Austria 0 ) 2,584 3 0 2,587
US/Bahamas 17 180 te) 0 te) 197
US/British Virgin .
Islands 21 615 0 4 O 640
US/Canada 1,870 917 232,852 51 54 235,744
-US/Costa Rica te) 40 ) O Oo 40
US/Finland i) ie) 40 oO 0 40
US/France 602 14 777 299 i) 1,692
US/Germany 1,577 992 2,891 24 30 5,514
US/Hong Kong 159 482 0 0 0 641
US/Ireland 0 22 0 te) ie) 22
US/Japan 3,480 0 te) id) 718 4,198
US/Liechtenstein 1,963 0 e) 0 82 2,045
US/Mexico t) ) 0 552 0 552
US/Netherlands 550 230 te) 17 te) 797
US/Netherlands Antilles 4,445 2 699 20 469 5,635
US/Panama 3,580 0 te) 220 120 3,920
US/Peru te) 299 45 1) 0 344
US/Philippines 496 te) 539 Oo 0 1,035
US/Singapore 196 te) O te) 0 196
US/South Africa 0 te) i) 3,160 0 3,160
US/Sweden 0 75 te) te) 32 107
US/Switzerland 8,140 1,248 6,537 29 261 16,215
US/United Kingdom 850 602 9,039 te) 2,738 13,229
US/Venezuela 0) 0 0 89 0 89
US/multiple 71 159 ie) 0 te) 230,
Subtotal ? 28,017 5,877 256,003 4,468 4,549 298,914
Total all
land dispositions 40,094 10,128 264,422 5,875 5,181 325,700

‘ Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.

47



Figure 3

Trends in Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land by Type of Use, 1981-97
Millon acres : . .

16
15 5
14 5

Forest

Nonag.
Other ag.

a
i | Pasture
ee

Crop

on NO ha OAN OD ©

1981 1983 : 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997

Program Costs and Penalties

Administration of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 for obtaining and analyzing the
data required an estimated 13.7 staff-years at a cost of approximately $750,000 to USDA for the past year, of
which the Farm Services Agency contributed approximately 12.6 staff-years at an estimated cost of $636,000.
The remaining costs and staff-years are attributable primarily to the Economic Research Service, with some
contributions by the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of Public Affairs. During 1997, USDA
assessed 172 penalties for late filings, totaling $142,008.

53



Characteristics of Foreign Owners

Type of Foreign Owner. Corporations are the most common type of owner. They account for 42 percent of
the owners, followed by individuals, 39 percent, and partnerships, 15 percent (table 2). The remaining 4
percent of the owners are estates, trusts, institutions, associations, and others such as real estate investment
trusts, church groups, and foreign organizations not identifiable with the above categories.

Corporations own 57 percent of the parcels and 79 percent of the acreage; individuals, 27 percent of the
parcels and 6 percent of the acreage; partnerships, 12 percent of the parcels and 12 percent of the acreage; and
all others, 4 percent of the parcels and 3 percent of the acreage. When partial interests are taken into account,
foreign-owned acreage drops from 14.3 million acres to 13.1 million, but distribution among the types of
owners remains relatively the same.

Corporate-held parcels average 1,381 acres, or 3,459 acres per holder, while individual-held parcels average
234 acres, or 298 acres per holder. Partnership holdings average 942 acres per parcel, or 1,488 acres per
holder, and all other holdings average 687 acres per. parcel, or 1,203 acres per holder.

Size of Holding. Individuals tend to own smaller parcels than corporations (tables 2 and 3). Owners of
parcels of less than 300 acres (62 percent of all of the foreign owners) hold only 3 percent of the land and
owners of parcels with 300’ acres or more (the remaining 38 percent) hold 97 percent of the land (table 4).
Part of this concentration may be explained by the definition of agricultural land, which includes extensive
uses of land such as ranching and forestry and intensive uses of land such as orchards and vegetable farms.
The different unit sizes due to differences in use may also explain part of the acreage differences in foreign-
held land among the ‘States.

Table 2--U.S. agricultural landholdings, by type of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997

(Number)
Parcels with Acreage
Owner Owners Parcels Acres partial equivalent ?
interest '
Individual . . 3,042 3,872 906,364 295 812,741
Corporation . 3,295 8,250 11,396,622 469 10,367,279
Partnership 1,135 1,792 | 1,688,531 206 1,582,055
Estate 12 18 1,618 . 1 1,604
Trust 220 375 224,050 7 222,878
Institution 3 3 1,075 1 1,015
Association 3 4 9,561 2 7,769
Other 48 101 107,958 3 107,787
Total . 7,758 14,415 14,335,779 984 13,103,128

" Parcels with partial interests are parcels owned only in part by the foreign investor; that is, a percentage interest less than 100
percent.

? Acreage equivalent equals the total acreage reported multiplied by the percentage held by the foreign owner.



Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land Through December 31, 1997, by Charles H. Barnard and
Jacqueline Stokes. Resource Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Statistical Bulletin No. 943.

Abstract

Foreign persons owned 14.3 million acres of U.S. agricultural land as of December 31, 1997. This is slightly
more than 1 percent of all privately held agricultural land and 0.63 percent of all land in the United States.
These and other findings aré based on an analysis of reports submitted in compliance with the Agricultural
Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978.

Keywords: Agricultural land, foreign landownership, landholdings, land acquisitions, land dispositions.

National Agricultural Library Cataloging Record:

Barnard, Charles
Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land through December 31, 1997.
(Statistical bulletin (United States. Dept. of Agriculture) ; no. 943)
1. Farms--United States--Foreign ownership--Statistics.
2. Real property--United States--Foreign ownership--Statistics.
3. Investments, Foreign--United States--Statistics. I. Stokes, Jacqueline.
IL United States. Dept. Of Agriculture. Economic Research Service.
Ill. Title.

HD256

Washington, DC 20036-5831 September 1998



Table 14--Landholdings of foreign owners that consist orily of U.S. forest or only
of U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land, by type of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997

(Number)
| Pane Acreage .
Owner Owners 'Parcels Acres interests * equivalent
|
Individual 409 | 497 117,139 43 114,066
Corporation 405 | 2,225 5,281,699 212 4,373,785
Partnership 121 | 290 304,981 19 300,924
Estate 1 | 1 14 O 14
Trust 20 | 35 20,186 1 19,662
Other 9 | 10 5,013 i) 5,013
Total 965 | 3,058 5,729,032 275 4,813,464

|
' Parcels with partial interests are parcels owned only in part by the foreign investor; that is, a percentage interest less than 100
percent. . |

? Acreage equivalent equals the total acreage reported multiplied by the percentage held by the foreign owner.

Table 15--Landholdings of foreign owners that consist only of U.S. forest or only
of U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land, by size of holding,
| December 31, 1997

Size Owners Parcels Acres
(Acres) (Number) (Number) (Number)
Less than 20 129 134 1,447
20-59 206 220 6,915
60-99 92 106 7,034
100-299 187 241 31,260
300-999 153 282 85,570
1,000 or more 198 2,075 5,596,806
Total 965 3,058 5,729,032

Table 16--Intended use of U.S. agricultural landholdings of foreign owners,
December 31, 1997

(Number)
Item No change Other agriculture Other non- Not reported Total
9 agriculture P

Individual:

Parcels reported 3,525 195 96 56 3,872

Acres 841,396 48,407 6,908 9,653 906,364
Organization:

Parcels reported 8,888 541 909 204 10,543

Acres 12,613,327 271,817 393,607 150,528 13,429,415
Total:

Parcels reported 12,413 736 1,005 260 14,415
Acres 13,454,723 320,224 400,515 160,181 14,335,779

28



acres or 31 percent of the foreign-held acres of U.S. agricultural land. In excess of 400,000 acres per country are
owned by foreign persons from Switzerland, Mexico, the Netherlands Antilles, Japan, the Netherlands, and the
British Virgin Islands; representing 22 percent of total acres. Approximately 1.0 percent of the acreage, 187,253
acres, is owned by unidentifiable third-tier persons; that is, the acreage is not attributable to any foreign country
of origin because no foreign country of origin is listed through the third tier of ownership.

In the South, foreign persons from Canada own 873,311 acres or 19 percent of the foreign-held actes (table 9).
Foreign persons from Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Netherlands Antilles, collectively own
1,673,911 acres or 36 percent. Three percent of the acreage, 139,494 acres, is owned by unidentifiable third-tier
foreign persons. Another 12 percent, 565,081 acres, is owned by foreign persons from Mexico, the British Virgin
Islands, the Netherlands, and Singapore. |

In the West, foreign persons from the United Kingdom own more acres than any other single group--19 percent.
Much of the U.K. figure is attributable to three U.S./U.K. corporations that own 24 parcels covering 477,790
acres, Foreign persons from Germany, Canada, and Japan reported owning 1,539,345 acres or 33 percent. An.
additional 1,110,169 acres, or 24 percent, were reported by foreign persons from the Netherlands, Mexico,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands Antilles, and Switzerland.

In the Northeast, foreign persons from Canada own 2,184,493 acres, or 60 percent of the foreign-held acreage:
Ninety percent of this figure, 1,973,923 acres, is attributable to four companies with extensive forest holdings--
one Canadian company with partial interests in 78 parcels covering 1,064,586 acres, a second Canadian company
with 9 parcels covering 266,023 acres, a UIS/Canada corporation with 30 parcels covering 521,812 acres, and a
second U.S./Canada corporation with 3 parcels covering 121,502 acres. A U.S./France corporation owns an
additional 25 percent of the foreign-held acreage in the Northeast, consisting of 15 parcels totaling 914,664 acres.

Jn the Midwest, foreign persons from Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, the British Virgin Islands, the
Netherlands, and Canada reported owning 1,031,216 acres, 71 percent of the foreign-held acreage in the region.
An additional 10 percent of the acreage is owned by multiple entities (entities that have foreign owners from a
number of countries, none of whom has a predominant interest). :

Interest in Lai

_ Of the 14,415 parcels of foreign-held U.S. jagricultural land, 87 percent of the parcels, accounting for 84 percent
of the reported acreage, is held in fee interest whole (that is, the owner holds the estate‘in its entirety). Partial
interests are held in another 7 percent of the parcels covering another 12 percent of the acres (table 10).

Under the AFIDA regulations, leases of 10 years or longer are the only leases that need to be reported. * Leases
are treated separately because they represent a different type of interest. Questions on value, tenure, and method
of acquiring land do not apply because the|report form was not devised to deal with leases. Leases cover 44,597
acres of U.S. agricultural land. Timberland accounts for 1,676 acres, or 4 percent of the reported foreign

leaseholds.

Method of Acquisition

More foreign investors reported paying cash for their U.S. agricultural landholdings than any other method of ac-
quisition--52 percent of the parcels, covering 36 percent of the acreage (table 10). This compares with 23 percent
of the parcels, containing 16 percent of the acreage, that were acquired by credit only, and 10 percent of the
parcels, containing 27 percent of the acreage, that were acquired by “other method only.” The “other method
only” category includes mergers, corporations that became foreign because foreign persons obtained a significant
interest or substantial control in the corporations, or an individual exchanging land for stock in a new corporation.
The “cash and credit only” category covers an additional 7 percent of the parcels and 12 percent of the acres.

47 CER. § 781.2© (1994).



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Level Data supplements information in the annual report Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land
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Tenure

|
Foreign owners operate 27 percent of the parcels acquired during the period and 12 percent of the acres, whereas
tenants operate 30 percent of the parcels and 13 percent of the acres (table 32). Managers operate 13 percent of the
parcels and 71 percent of the acres. No responses on tenure were received for 30 percent of the parcels covering 4
percent of the acres. Rental agreements applied to 30 percent of the parcels covering 14 percent of the acres.

Tenure Change |
|

Reports for 50 percent of the parcels acquired during the period indicate no tenure change for 88 percent of the
acreage (table 32). Reports for 24 percent of the parcels, containing 8 percent of the acres, indicated a tenure
change. Because the number of acres affected by new tenure arrangements was not reported, the acreage may be
overstated; that is, all of these acres are not necessarily affected by new tenure arrangements. No responses on
tenure change were made for 26 percent of the parcels accounting for 3 percent of the acres.

Table 30--Foreign acquisitions of U.S. forest and other nonagricultural land, by size of acquisition,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

Size Owners reporting Parcels reported Acres Value
(Acres) (Number) (Number) (Number) (1,000 dollars) *

i

H
Less than 20 5 | 5 4 240
20-59 5 | 5 166 549
60-99 3) 5 233 137
100-299 9 15 1,546 10,012
300-999 5 50 2,403 2,266
1,000 or more 14 43 319,071 188,904
Total 41 123 323,460 202,108

‘ Value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value).

Table 31--Intended use, of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions of foreign owners,
Vanuary 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
‘ Other non- nats
Item No change. |Other agriculture agriculture No report | Combination Total

Individual:

Parcels reported 4 4 5 0 0 50

Acres 5,141 714 198 ie) le) 6,053
Organization:

Parcels reported 244 18 18 22 0 302

Acres 497,251 6,444 5,182 473 te) 509,350
Total:

Parcels reported 285 22 23 22 0 352

Acres 502,392 7,158 5,380 473 0 515,403

40



Table 11--Use of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by country of foreign owner,
December 31, 1997---Continued

(Acres)
|
Other Other non-
Country Cropland Pasture Forest agriculture agriculture Total
|

US/Honduras 37 te) te) i) te) 37
US/Hong Kong 120,592 8,345, 695 119 747 130,498
US/Indonesia 351 153 te) 114 26 644
US/Iran 483 747 5 559 67 1,861
US/Iraq 800 i) ie) te) 0 800
US/lreland 153 355 1,612 6 0 2,126
US/lsrael 95 i) 187 45 87 414
US/Italy 70,931 18,303 12,134 §,939 1,904 109,211
US/Japan 61,658 117,078 82,680 46,155 15,173 322,744
US/Jordan 75 284 te) 75 i) 434
US/Kenya 0 0 32 0. 0 32
US/Korea (South) 10 63 te) 0 12 85
US/Kuwait 486 6,379 772 604 89 8,330
US/Lebanon 50 140 133 67 21 411
US/Liberia 1,503 18,013 3,966 1,082 80 24,644
US/Libyan Arab Republic 0 te) 0 277 3 280
US/Liechtenstein 78,054 6,331 10,155 4,074 8,956 107,570
US/Luxembourg 13,641 165,395 26,162 46,319 19,208 270,725
US/Malaysia 0 ¢) (} 300 oO 300
US/Malta 10 te) 30 460 i) 500
US/Mexico ° 9,938 227,380 1,095 15,745 2,428 256,586
US/Namibia 83 i) 9 te) i) 92
US/Netherlands 60,237 200,211 22,806 38,156 49,501 370,911
US/Netherlands Antilles 47,258 136,075 10,940 8,964 5,650 208,887
US/New Hebrides {0 883 te) 0 te) 883
US/New Zealand 2,605 45,537 i} 240 1,021 49,403
US/Nicaragua lo 242 40 0 ie) 282
US/Norway 765 30 163 8,039 712 9,709
US/Pakistan 423 oO i) te) i) 423
US/Panama 21,507 94,116 5,333 5,415 920 127,291
US/Paraguay jo 236 0 0 0 236
US/Peru 300 0 25 878 50 1,253
US/Philippines 6,321 59 1,274 465, 671 8,790
US/Portugal . 1,429 151 ie) 0 103 1,683
Us/Qatar lo () 219 0 () 219
US/Saudi Arabia 873 6,695 2,572 394 1,064 11,598
US/Singapore 196 te) 91,922 i) 73 92,191
US/South Africa 1,445 300 178 1,925 3,014 6,862
US/Spain 11,747 2,012 408 2,514 276 16,957
US/Sweden 3,230 258 2,980 1,120 349 7,937
US/Switzerland 128,911 54,247 116,413 29,763 11,430 340,764
US/Taiwan 27,796 6,865 3,079 5,559 2,849 46,148
US/Thailand 175 i?) 1) 77 oO 252
US/Trinidad & Tobago 20 0. i) ie} te) 20
uS/Turkey 600 153 0 0 0 753
US/United Arab Emirates 1,591 2,548 82 303 223 4,747
US/United Kingdom 117,272 392,990 520,018 31,103 29,001 = 1,090,384
US/Uruguay te) 550 102 40 3 695
US/Venezuela 34,130 1,962 2,777 393 1,108 40,370
US/multiple 9,629 3,711 161,654 1,709 838 177,541
US/third tier 92,929 721 73,843 4,970 1,292 173,755

Subtotal * 1,293,089 2,411,693 4,274,036 475,343 294,788 8,748,949
Total all

landholdings 2,487,745 4,074,977 6,421,536 866,852 484,669 14,335,779

‘ Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders. _
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.



Table 21--Foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land acquisitions,
by size of acquisition, January 1 - December 31, 1997

Size Owners Parcels Acres Value
(Acres) reporting reported (Number) (1,000
(Number) (Number) dollars) '
Less than 20 16 17 188 1,095
20-59 38 47 1,394 16,594
60-99 11 12 832 881
100-299 38 52 6,755 32,349
300-999 36 112 19,941 37,273 |

1,000 or more 31 112 486,293 344,647
Total 170 352 515,403 432,839

* Value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value).

Table 22--Value of U.S. agricultural land acquisitions, by type of foreign owner,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

Acres
Acres Purchase with Non-
Owners h price * non- purchase
Owner reporting purchase (1,000 purchase price '
(Number) re ete d dollars) price (1,000
Porte reported dollars)
(Number) (Number)
Individual 43 6,053 10,562 0 0
Corporation 103 497,803 389,789 Oo 0O
Partnership 16 6,421 9,637 0 0O
Estate 1 464 767 0 0
Trust 1 119 392 i} 0
Other 6 4,543 21,692 0 0
Total 170 515,403 432,839 t) 0
Acres Current Acres Equity
with value ? with (1,000
current (1,000 equity dollars)
value dollars) reported
reported (Number)
(Number)
Individual 6,053 10,587 6,053 8,852
Corporation 497,803 388,911 497,803 380,392
Partnership 6,421 10,372 6,421 9,940
Estate . 464 767 464 767
Trust 119 392 119 392
Other 4,543 21,692 4,543 19,542
Total 515,403 "482,721 515,403 419,885

‘ Purchase price and nonpurchase price (estimated value) at time of acquisition.
? Current value is value at time of reporting.

33



Table 9--Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural landholdings, by U:S. region,
December 31, 1997---Continued

(Number)
Country : South West Northeast Midwest.
Parcels Acres Parcels Acres Parcels Acres Parcels Acres
US/Hong Kong 4 7,414 20 123,084 0 0 0 0
US/Indonesia 5 644 0 oO O 0 0 0
US/Iran 3 955 3 906 0 0 0 0
US/Iraq i) 0 1 800 0 0 0 0
US/Ireland 12 2,126 0 oO 0 0 0 0
US/Israel i} 0 3 414 0 0 i} 0
USiltaly 18 107,726 2 410 5 984 1 91 |
US/Japan 90 31,032 165 210,220 13 66,323 108 15,169
US/Jordan to) 0 3 434 O 0 0 “0
US/Kenya 1 32 oO oO 0 0 0 0
US/Korea (South) 1 10 1 75 0 0 0 0
US/Kuwait 5 1,196 4 6,066 1 772 3 296
US/Lebanon 3 258 0 oO 2 153 i} i)
US/Liberia 6 2,451 5 18,603 5 3,590 0 0
US/Libyan Arab Republic 0 0 3 280 oO 0 0 0
US/Liechtenstein 38 73,214 51 27,663 ' 3 670 1 6,023
US/Luxembourg 66 47,751 15 222,241 . 3 123 5 610
US/Malaysia 0 i} 1 300 0 0 0 0
US/Malta 1 500 0 0 0 0 0 0
‘US/Mexico 43 49,558 30 203,983 1 135 13 2,910
US/Namibia 0 0° i} 0 0 0 1 92
US/Netherlands 107 44,683 87 234,958 17 3,533 120 87,737
US/Netherlands Antilles 86 144,174 30 56,423 5 1,335 24 6,955,
US/New Hebrides 0 0 1 883 0 0 0 0
US/New Zealand 3 2,725 1 46,678 oO 0 i} 0
US/Nicaragua 2 282 to) 0 oO i} 0 an)
US/Norway 7 8,161 to) 0 3 1,548 0 i}
US/Pakistan » 0 0 1 423 Oo 0 0 0
US/Panama 44 36,729 27 83,965 ab] 4,687 7 1,910
‘US/Paraguay 1 236 0 i} oO 0 0 0
US/Peru . 2 1,253 O 0 O 0 0 0
US/Philippines W 7,936 2 223 1 631 0 0
US/Portugal 2 1,683 oO 0 i) 0 0 0
US/Qatar 1 “219 oO O 0 0 0 i}
US/Saudi Arabia 27 11,245 0 i) oO 0 2 353
« US/Singapore 10 92,191 O oO 0 0 0 0
US/South Africa 3 2,573 4 4,129 0 0 1 160
US/Spain 40 12,679 10 2,680 2 1,548 1 50
US/Sweden . 5 5,978 1 1,085 0 0 4 874
US/Switzerland 223 202,374 116 59,884 a 46,432 84 32,074
US/Taiwan 13 31,605 53 10,203 2 699 5 3,641
US/Thailand 0 . O 3 252 oO 0 0 0
US/Trinidad & Tobago 1 20 oO O 0 0 0 0
US/Turkey 3 753 0 0 0 0 0 0
US/United Arab Emirates 21 4,747 i) i} 0O 0 0 0
_US/United Kingdom 560 257,095 188 695,211 84 49,394 193 88,684
US/Uruguay 2 655 O° 0 0 0 1 40
US/Venezuela 50 38,009 1 1,500 7 861 0 0
US/multiple 49 10,732 16 6,565 4 17,609 15 142,635,
US/third tier 22 128,930 9 44,055 1 420 2 350
Subtotal ? 3,475 2,814,587 1,385 2,992,147 554 1,964,020 1,113 978,195
Total all
landholdings 7,046 4,605,132 3,155 4,653,176 1,865 3,615,367 2,349 1,462,104

‘ Total interests excluding U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.
? Total interests of U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders.


The act is designed to impute foreign person status to certain U.S. entities holding direct and indirect interests
in U.S. agricultural land: For purposes of the act, this is accomplished by defining each successive link in a
chain of U.S. entities containing foreign interests as a foreign person. However, only the foreign person who
actually holds the direct interest-in the land (that is, the first layer or tiér) is considered the reporting entity.
This entity need not actually be foreign, but under the act, it is deemed’a foreign person because another
foreign person holds a significant interest or substantial control in it. In some instances, that second tier also
may not actually be foreign but may be deemed foreign under the act for the same reason. The regulations
define "significant interest or substantial control" to mean a 10-percent or more interest in the entity if héld by’
a single foreign person or a group of foreign persons acting in concert, or a 50-percent or more interest if held
by a group of foreign persons Hiot acting in ‘concert, none of whom individually holds a 10-percent or greater °*
interest in that entity.

Under the regulations, the reporting entity (other than an individual or government), whether domestic or
foreign, is required to provide information (names, addresses, citizenship, and the nature of the entity, if any)
on the second-tier investments; that is, all foreign persons holding a significant interest or substantial control
in the reporting entity. In turn, a second-tier entity may be required to provide information about foreign
persons'who hold a significant i interest or substantial control in that entity.

When the foreign person is an individual from, or an entity created under the laws of, for example, Germany,
the report is Processed as "Germany." Where persons from many different countries hold direct and indirect
interests in one piece of land, an attempt is made to identify the predominant country as the country-of origin.
When there is no predominant couniry, for example, an equal partnership between a Canadian and a German,
the report is processed as "multiple." Reports filed by U.S. corporations with foreign shareholders are clas-
sified "U.S./- (foreign country)." For example, a U.S. corporation with a Canadian shareholder who has a
significant interest or substantial control is processed as "U.S./Canada." Similarly, a U.S. corporation owned
by another U.S. corporation in which a Canadian corporation has a significant interest or substantial control is
processed as "U.S./Canada." Where foreign shareholders’ with a significant interest or substantial control are
from a number of countries, none of which predominates, the report is processed as "U.S./multiple." If three
or more tiers of U.S. corporations are listed with no foreign interest indicated, the report is processed’as
"U.S./third tier." Noncorporate entities with U.S. interests are processed under the predominant country of
origin.

U.S. agricultural land owned by a U.S. entity deemed a foreign person under the act (the party legally
responsible for providing the information required by the act) is reported from the standpoint of the U.S. Entity
rather than that of the foreign shareholder.

The AFIDA provedures provide for land to be reported by parcels. All land held in the same manner (type of
interest), located in one county, and acquired at the same time, is considered a parcel and is to be reported on a
single form. Land does not have to be adjacent to be considered part of one parcel. This parcel concept is
intended to ease the reporting burden.

All parcels (and acres) for each owner have been combiried under each owner. Therefore, the number of
owners is less than the number of parcéls. However, because owners do not always report their names in
exactly the same way on each form, it is difficult to attribute these forms with great precision to one person of
legal entity. Some foreign persons hold land in their own namies and also hold interests ‘in entities that own
other lands. These entities are treated as separate owners.



In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC 552a) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
"The information will be used to determine the etfects of foreign perrons acquiring, transferring and holding
fay farms ad urs canmunias, Fumining te requeiadiermation mandi. Fafur to comply or falteaion of reperng
penaty,

NOTE: MARCA at sk
Federal Agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and = person is not required to respond to, a collection of information uniess it displays @ currently valid OMB control number, Public reporting |

Erman yt rms ec rat ers ein comet ni, ear
aintainng ine date needed, and completing and reviewing fe colton cf rformation, Send comments regarding vs burden eatinate or ary olMer sepect of this colecion cf itiormation,
including sugges ions for reducing this burden, to pepariment of Agricuture, ‘Clearance Officer, OIRM (OMB No. 97), AG Box 7630, Washington, D.C. 20250. RETURN THIS |
‘COMPLETED FORM TO YOUR COUNTY FSA OFFICE. |

DETERMINATION OF “FOREIGN PERSON" STATUS:

DEFINITION: "Person’ means any Incvidua, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, trust, estate, or any other
legal entity. :

You are a “foreign person" under the provisions of P.L. 95-460 and must complete the front side of this form (FSA-153) if your answer is "NO" to all

the statements numbered 1, 2, and 3 below. [YES TNO
4. 1AM a citizen of the United States. j
2. TAM a citizen of the Northern Mariana Islands or the Trust Territories of the Pacific Istands.

3. TAM lawfuly admitted fo the United States for permanent residence, or paroled into the United States, under the Immigration and
lationality Act.

ee, The athorty for requenting the folowing
furalian, and he etecte oust actviy on
jubject to civil penalty, not to exceed 25 percent of |

‘You are a “foreign person" under the provisions of P.L. 95-460 and must complete the front side of this form (FSA-153) if your answer is "YES" to any of the
‘statements numbered 4a, 4b, and § below. (ves |

4. 1AM a “person” other than an individual or government, which is created or organized under the laws of: 1
a. A foreign government of which has its principal place of business located outside the United States. |

'b. Any State of the United States, and in which significant interest or substantial control 1/ is held directly or indirectly by any t
foreign individual, government, or person. i

1
7
5. 1AM a foreign government. i

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

‘Complete this form in an original and three copies for each tract of land. Insertion of carbons is necessary. Report as a tract all acreages under the same ownership in each
county or parish acquired or transferred on the same date. Land in different counties or parishes and land acquired or transferred on different dates must be reported as
separate tracts.

Retum the original and two copies to the County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office where the tract of land is located. Retain the last copy (Foreign Person Copy) for
your records. DO NOT SEND THIS FORM DIRECTLY TO WASHINGTON, D.C. UNLESS GRANTED PERMISSION BY THE FSA IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

After the original disclosure on FSA-153 on the tract(s) of land owned by the same person within a county or parish, each subsequent change of
ownership or use must be reported by filing another FSA-153.

ITEM INSTRUCTIONS AND REPORTING DATES

ITEM 4. ONLY ONE BOX MAY BE CHECKED

Ifthe tract of land to be listed under item 2 on the front side of this document was:

Owned on February 1,°1979, check & Land 377 ) Reporting Date: This document is required to be
, Men a eepted and retured by August 1 1319,

Ifthe tract of land to be listed under item 2 on the front side of this document was, on or after February 2, 1979:

Acquired, check Wt, OX)
Disposed of, check. tana ton Reporting Date:
Bapostion = in
“Changed rom nonapie seseeralwe chee * > HURL ) iol evi cet ;
Changed from agricultural to non-agricultural, use check © LangUss change To FSA-153 sithin ninety (90) days
ITEM 8. Re date entered would be as follows for the activity checked in
tem I:

Box A or B - Date acquired
Box = Date disposed of.
Box D or E - Date and use changed.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (Use additional sheets if more space is needed)

‘AZ Significant interest or substantial control as defined in 7 CFR 781.2 (K). “U.S, Goverment Printing Office: 1996 - 757-520
This program or activity will be conducted on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age. sex, marital status, or disability.

55



Dispositions, Land-Use Changes, and Changes in Status

Data in this section are derived from reports filed by foreign investors who disposed of 352 parcels of U.S.
agricultural land covering 325,700 acres between January 1 and December 31, 1997. In addition to these
dispositions, there were reports of land-use changes out of agriculture affecting 9 parcels covering 601 acres, and
reports of change in status from foreign to nonforeign affecting 79 parcels covering 51,100 acres.

For the same reasons noted“at the outset-of the "Acquisitions" section, the reported data for dispositions, land-use
changes, and changes in status should be regarded as preliminary. Reports that were not timely filed and/or were
incomplete or statutorily not required to be filed by the closing date for this report are not included.

Characteristics of Foreign Owners Disposing of Land

‘ype of Foreign Owner. The largest amount of acres disposed of was in Maine, Georgia, Florida, and North
Carolina, accounting for 84 percent of the dispositions acreage (table 33).

Transfers by foreign investors to U.S. purchasers accounted for 66 percent of the parcels and 51 percent of the
acres (table 34). Reports for 14 percent of the parcels and 42 percent of the acres indicated that they were
transferred to other known foreign persons. Reports for 15 percent of the parcels covering 6 percent of the acres
indicated dispositions to persons of unknown citizenship.

Table 32--Tenure of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land acquisitions,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

Parcels reported Acres Value
Tenure (Number) (Number) (1,000 dollars) '
Current:
Foreign owner 94 60,263 40,203
Manager 47 367,561 264,716
Tenant 104 68,969 70,382
No report 107 18,610 57,538
Total 352 515,403 432,839
Rental:
Crop 24 11,752 13,922
Cash 81 58,312 57,385
No report 153 385,076 321,329
Not applicable 94 60,263 40,203
Total 352 515,403 432,839
Intended change:
None 175 455,257 332,172
New 85 42,910 49,416
No report 92 17,236 51,251
Total 352 515,403 432,839

' Value is purchase price or nonpurchase price (estimated value).


Corporations were the most active type of foreign owner disposing of land, accounting for 57 percent of the
owners, 70 percent of the parcels, and.92 percent of the acres (table 35). In comparison, individuals and
partnerships accounted for 36 percent of the owners, 26 percent of the parcels, and 6 percent of the acres.

Size of Disposition. The most acreage disposed of was for parcels with 1,000 or more acres, accounting for 90
percent of the acres (table. 36). As.should be expected, sales prices per acre were higher for smaller parcels.
Average selling price for parcels of less than 20 acres was $12,688 per acre, compared with $189 per acre for
parcels of 1,000 or more acres. Average selling price of all reported dispositions was $366 per acre.

Table 34--Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land
by foreign owners, by citizenship of purchasers,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
Purchaser - Parcels Acres
reported
USA 232 164,821
Foreign 49 136,787
Unknown 53 19,336
No report 18 4,756
Total 352 325,700

Table 35--Dispositions of U.S. agricultural land, by type of foreign owner,
January 1 - December 31, 1997

(Number)
Parcels with
Owners Parcels soli Acreage
Owner Acres ~ artial interest m
reporting reported p reported’ equivalent *
Individual 4 52 8,405 8 7,899
Corporation . 93 246 301,798 28 70,766
Partnership 18 . 40 - 10,185 . 0 10,185
Trust 8 10 4,903 te) 4,903
Other 2 4 409 ie) 409
Total 162 352 325,700 36 94,162

* Parcels with partial interests are parcels owned only is part by the foreign investor; that is, a percentage interest less than
100 percent.

2 Acreage equivalent equals the total acreage reported multiplied by the percentage held by the foreign owner.

43



Figure 1

State Concentration of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land, December 31, 1997

XT ie

Legend: Acres
C 0-49,999

50,000-99,999 «
} 23 100,000-199,999,
[J 200,000-399,999

400,000 & over

Figure 2

Proportion of Foreign-Owned Agricultural Land to All Privately Owned
Agricultural Land in the United States, December 31, 1997

m—aZ

Legend: Percent
(Less than 0.2%
0.2 to 0.9%
1.0 to 1.9%
2.0% or more