TOP 5 COUNTRIES (By Acres)
TOP 5 STATES (By Acres)
- 1Texas7.1M
- 2California5.4M
- 3North Carolina3.2M
- 4Iowa2.8M
- 5Missouri2.6M
ACRES BY LAND USE
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
- + 174,000 acres acquired in April 2024
- Largest increase in Texas (+68,000 acres)
- 3 counties now over 100,000 acres
- New foreign ownership detected in 27 counties
Reports & Downloads
Each report answers a specific question about foreign agricultural land ownership using USDA AFIDA FY2024 data.
County Snapshot Report
Who owns foreign-held agricultural land in my county?
- County-level foreign ownership summary
- Countries represented
- Owner/entity names
- Acres by owner
- Reported & current value
- Land use breakdown
- Acquisition year timeline
- Notable records ($0 purchases, unknown codes)
Select a state and county above to continue.
State Intelligence Report
What is happening with foreign agricultural land ownership in this state?
- Statewide acreage and value totals
- County rankings
- Top foreign countries
- Top owners/entities
- Land use breakdown
- Acquisition trends
- High-value holdings
- Unusual records and data flags
Select a state above to continue.
Country Ownership Report
Where does land tied to this country appear in the United States?
- Total reported acres by country
- Top states
- Top counties
- Top owners/entities
- Land use categories
- Acquisition timeline
- Value summary
- Secondary-interest flags where available
Select a country above to continue.
Watchlist & Anomaly Report
Which records deserve closer attention?
- $0 purchase price holdings
- $0 debt holdings
- High-value holdings
- Unknown country codes (998, 999)
- China, Iran, Russia, North Korea flags
- Rapid acquisition activity
- Large owner/entity concentrations
- Unusual value patterns
Professional / Research Access
Custom coverage, recurring delivery, API access for institutions and researchers.
Trends & Intelligence
Key patterns in reported foreign agricultural land ownership. All figures derived from USDA AFIDA FY2024 filings.
Top 5 countries hold the majority of reported foreign-owned acres
Canada, Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom, and Germany represent the largest ownership interests by reported acreage.
40.2 million reported acres under AFIDA
Represents approximately 3.1% of total U.S. agricultural land area. Ownership-adjusted acres are lower when partial interests are accounted for.
946 military installations cross-referenced
County-level FIPS matching provides geographic proximity context. Proximity does not imply threat or wrongdoing.
Some parcels report secondary ownership links
The dataset includes flags for secondary interests in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. These are reported interests, not allegations.
Forest and pasture dominate foreign-held acres
Forest land and pasture represent the largest land use categories among foreign-held parcels, followed by cropland.
Reported acquisitions span decades of filings
Acquisition years range from the 1970s to 2024. AFIDA is a cumulative register of currently held interests, not just new purchases.
For detailed breakdowns by state, county, or country of ownership, see the Reports tab.
Methodology & Data
Full transparency on data sources, definitions, aggregation formulas, and known limitations.
What Is AFIDA?
The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (1978) requires foreign persons who hold interests in U.S. agricultural land to report those interests to USDA.
USDA compiles these filings into an annual report for Congress. This site presents that data in interactive form to serve the original congressional intent: public awareness of foreign agricultural land ownership.
Data Source
Primary: USDA FSA AFIDA FY2024 (49,548 records).
Military: DoD DISDI / BTS FY2024 (946 installations).
Country Codes: ISO 3166-1 with AFIDA extensions.
Geometry: U.S. Census county boundaries joined by FIPS.
Key Definitions
Reported Acres: Sum of Number of Acres as filed by foreign owners.
Ownership-Adjusted Acres: Number of Acres x Percent of Ownership / 100. Reflects partial interests.
Type of Interest: Fee simple, leasehold, easement, or other legal interest.
Secondary Interest: Additional country linked to a parcel beyond the primary owner country.
Proximity Context: County contains a military installation (FIPS match only).
Aggregation Method
1. CSV ingestion and field validation
2. FIPS normalization (5-digit, zero-padded)
3. County grouping by FIPS
4. Reported acres and ownership-adjusted acres per county
5. Country-of-origin breakdown per county
6. Military installation FIPS matching
7. State and national roll-ups from county totals
Ownership-Adjusted Acres
The 1984 AFIDA annual report distinguished total reported acreage from partial-interest-adjusted acreage. We follow the same principle:
Formula: Number of Acres x Percent of Ownership / 100
When Percent of Ownership is blank or invalid, only reported acres are shown. A note is displayed where ownership-adjusted figures are unavailable.
Limitations
County-level FIPS only (no parcel GPS coordinates available in public data).
Self-reported data with known under-reporting acknowledged by USDA.
Ownership-adjusted acres depend on reported percent ownership and may be unavailable for some records.
Annual refresh aligned with USDA publication schedule.
Proximity context is geographic coincidence, not evidence of wrongdoing.
Coming Soon: Additional Layers
Future versions will include geographic proximity context for:
Water Resources -- Rivers, lakes, aquifers
Critical Infrastructure -- Energy, ports, airports
Energy Infrastructure -- Pipelines, power grid
National Forests -- U.S. Forest Service boundaries
These layers will provide additional geographic context without implying risk or wrongdoing.