The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the National Farm Security Action Plan, focusing on strengthening the security of American agriculture.
The plan includes measures to restrict foreign adversaries from acquiring U.S farm land.
It's viewed as a critical component of national security.
See USDA National Security Action Plan story here:
That comprehensive crack down, which the USDA calls a historic plan, targets China with the country owning around 265,000 acres of farmland in the U.S., especially around military bases.
“And so as stewards of creation we have an obligation to protect it,” said Brooke Rollins, U.S. Agriculture secretary.
Rollins announced on Tuesday the plan, which includes seven key items.
“Perhaps the most important, the first of the seven, is securing and protecting American farmland,” Rollins said. “Actively engaging at every level of government to take swift legislative and executive action to ban the purchase of American farmland by Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries.”
According to a USDA map, there is no China ownership near military bases in Montana and Wyoming.
But in May of last year, a President Biden executive order prohibited and required the divestment of certain real estate owned by a Chinese company for a cryptocurrency mine within 1 mile of F.E. Warren Air Force base.
“So until we can get a handle on this, I don't think the Chinese should be owning a farm or ranch land in our country,” said Goron
G. Chang, a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
Chang says it's absolutely critical to prevent China and the Chinese Communist Party from owning farm and ranch land in the U.S.
“We know that they are using it for espionage purposes,” Chang said. “But also they've been basing human trafficking operations on American farmland, and of course all the illegal marijuana grows, so this just should be out of bounds.”
The Montana Legislature passed a law in 2023 prohibiting foreign adversaries - China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela - from owning agricultural land, land around critical infrastructure, and land within sight of a military base.
In 2025, the legislature passed Senate Bill 306, which prohibited foreign entities from buying residential property through a tax deed.
“Either the Chinese Communist Party or banks that are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party will go in and buy residential properties,” said State Sen. Ken Bogner, R-Miles city.
Bogner was the main sponsor on both of those bills and says it is one of his priorities to protect Montana and U.S. land from foreign adversaries.
“So we got to make sure that we're doing our due diligence to making sure that they don't find these workarounds, these loopholes, they don't have shell company on shell company to buy these,” Bogner said.
The national plan also lists concerns with the agricultural supply chain, nutrition safety, research security, USDA programs, plant and animal health, and critical infrastructure.
“We cannot allow China to attack our agriculture,” Chang said. “That's just absolutely essential.”
“Montana is so critical to protecting the country and feeding the country,” Bogner said.
