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117: The Hidden Risk of Foreign Land Ownership in Agriculture · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
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  shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
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  passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
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  informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode. Hey y'all, welcome back to
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  another episode of the Cattle USA Daily podcast.
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  We are here today to talk about farm security and why farm
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  security is national security. We're going to take it out from
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  a granular level. We're not going to be talking
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  about prices or genetics or pasture rotations or anything
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  like that today. But outside of political, this
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  is an actual threat to every single rancher, every rural
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  community, and the consumers. So quickly and efficiently.
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  We are going to break down why? Why does this matter?
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  Why? Why is this even something that
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  I need to be concerned with? We are in a time where foreign
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  ownership of US farmland is rising, and it is rising fast,
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  including land near military bases.
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  That is not paranoia. It's just straight data.
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  It has been proven. It is facts, you can't argue it,
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  that foreign ownership of US land is rising and it is rising
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  fast. So why does this matter?
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  If you control the food, you control the people.
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  It is not dramatic to say that controlling agriculture is one
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  of the most strategic forms of warfare.
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  You don't need boots on the ground if you control food,
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  water and energy. This has been something that we
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  have talked about multiple times only not only from a actual
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  farmland aspect, but also from a security aspect and a
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  cybersecurity aspect. We actually talked about that a
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  few months ago of cybersecurity and what that looks like as
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  agricultural operations leaning into a tech world.
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  What does that look like? And so here's here's the numbers
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  behind it. Foreign owned AG land in the US
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  has doubled in the last 10 years.
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  We are now talking nearly 45,000,008.
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  That is the size of Kansas and Indiana combined is how much
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  land we are talking about here. So who is buying?
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  Why does this matter? Why should I give a flying rat's
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  ass? At the end of the day, the top
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  buyers each have their different motives.
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  Our top buyers are seen as China, Canada, the Netherlands,
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  and the UAE. Like I said, each of them have
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  different motives. But the concern isn't just
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  ownership, it is also proximity to infrastructure and the
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  erosion of local control that we are seeing with these purchasing
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  grabs. In a case study near Grand
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  Forks, ND, we actually saw a Chinese company bought land 12
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  miles from AUS Air Force. The city stepped in and stopped
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  the project, but only after public outcry.
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  Why was this allowed in the first place?
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  In Texas, we also saw a similar situation.
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  But here we saw lawmakers propose banning certain foreign
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  land purchases because of a Chinese owned wind farm near
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  Longland Air Force Base. National security experts called
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  it a Trojan horse. So why, as producers, should we
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  care about this? It is not just about ownership.
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  It is about vulnerability. If we lose ownership and local
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  control of farmland, we lose our food independence.
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  That is a threat not just to AG, but to America as a whole.
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  Cybersecurity is a big part of this too.
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  We live in a modern AG world. We are in a digital world where
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  GPS, smart irrigation, feed yard tech, all of the technology that
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  we use every single day, all of that makes us more vulnerable to
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  cyber attacks. If someone wants to take down
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  our grid or our digital infrastructure, the food system
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  suffers instantly. There is no cascading of
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  dominoes. That is an instant bomb to our
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  food infrastructure system. This isn't anti trade, this is
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  pro security. We need to be looking at this
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  from an aspect of we are protecting American agriculture
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  in the infrastructure of American agriculture.
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  This isn't about hating other countries, it is about defending
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  our own systems, data and land. Trade is good, trade is great.
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  I am pro trade every single day. But open doors don't mean
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  unlocked gates. So here's what you guys can take
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  away from this. Whether you are running cows
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  Montana or you are just a farmer in the Midwest, you are part of
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  the frontline of this and I want you to start asking who owns the
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  land near me? What policies are being pushed,
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  and how do I stay aware as an everyday rancher within the
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  United States? We need common sense policies to
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  limit foreign AG land acquisition, especially near
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  strategic infrastructure. We need cybersecurity plans that
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  reach rural communities. Speaking specifically for Kansas
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  rural communities, Communities and cybersecurity don't
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  necessarily go hand in hand every single day, especially
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  when we still have communities in Kansas that can't even get
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  Wi-Fi. How can we expect cybersecurity
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  to be part of that? And so we need to be advocating
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  for policy. And when we're doing this, we
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  need to advocate with teeth like we can no longer sit on the
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  sidelines and say this is OK or it doesn't impact me because it
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  impacts every single one of us. And it starts with us at a local
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  level. It starts with every single one
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  of you. You are not just a producer.
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  You are a national asset. As an agricultural producer, we
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  defend this country every time. We protect the land and keep
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  food secure. And that that's worth something
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  talking about. This is something that we can't
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  stop talking about today. It is something that we need to
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  continue talking about every single day.
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  You as a producer have a voice and it's up to you to start
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  using it on a community level, on a state level, and on a
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  national level. We have got to advocate for
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  policy that protects agriculture and protects American food
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  systems. As always, thank you guys so
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  much for listening to another episode of the Cattle USA Daily
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  podcast. If you like today's podcast
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  episode, this was a news article that got shared on our Cattle
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  USA drive that we send out every single day, Monday through
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  Friday. And then we also even have a
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  Saturday edition that we send out as well.
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  So if you liked today's topic and like staying up to date on
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  news, make sure you subscribe to that newsletter.
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  We've got that link down in the show notes for you guys to go
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  join the Cattle USA Drive and get that newsletter in your
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  inbox and stay up to date on everything that is happening in
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  the agriculture. I hope you guys have a blessed
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  rest of your week and we'll see y'all next time.