Out-of-state investors are buying up Nebraska land in part because of the groundwater that can be placed on crops. But there are restrictions on what they can do with that water.
Bill Gates’ Nebraska neighbors don’t know he owns the soybean field down the road. Here’s the story of his spending spree, including the massive loan he took out against his land.
Outside investment in farmland continues to increase, but some economists and many farmers worry deep pockets are pushing prices above what the land is worth.
Citing concerns about China, House Republicans ask GAO to look at foreign ownership. The 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act requires holders to report ownership to the USDA. There are gaps in the data reported.
TOLONO — Lin Warfel puts farmland owners in central Illinois into two categories: Those with a deep connection and desire to preserve their land, and those obsessed with short-term money. The 80-year-old still owns the land that’s been in his family since his great-grandfather arrived in Champaign C
Foreign investors acquired at least 1.6 million acres of agricultural land in the United States in 2016, the largest increase in more than a decade, a Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting of the latest available federal data shows.
One important way to ensure food security in the United States is to keep farmland ownership from going into foreign hands. That doesn't always happen.
