FARMLAND Act of 2025

Strengthened National Security and Food Security: The bill identifies agriculture as vital for national security and aims to prevent agricultural espionage and the theft of intellectual property by foreign entities (Section 2(a)).

Increased Accountability for Foreign Investors: The Act implements civil penalties for those who fail to submit required reports or submit misleading information (Section 2(b)). It also requires the public disclosure of the names of persons who pay these penalties (Section 2(c)).

Enhanced Oversight through Dedicated Leadership: The bill creates a Chief of Operations of Investigative Actions to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, and perform annual audits (Section 4(a) and 4(d)).

Improved Transparency via Data Collection: The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland Security are tasked with developing a database of agricultural land owned by foreign persons to track ownership (Section 6(b)).

Protection of Federal Program Funds: By prohibiting foreign persons from participating in Farm Service Agency programs, the bill ensures that federal benefits are not provided to these entities (Section 7(b)).

Increased Compliance Burdens for Industry Entities: Any entity involved in the purchase or transfer of agricultural land, such as buyers, sellers, real estate agents, brokers, and title companies, must now conduct due diligence and certify their compliance with the Act (Section 2(e)).

Increased Financial Risk from Penalties: The bill sets minimum and maximum limits for civil penalties regarding reporting failures (Section 2(b)), and foreign persons participating in prohibited Farm Service Agency programs face penalties of up to 125 percent of the benefits received (Section 7(c)).

Public Disclosure of Noncompliance: Individuals or entities that pay civil penalties will have their names publicly disclosed by the Secretary (Section 2(c)).