Update On Reporting Requirements For Foreign Agricultural Landholders

Executive Summary

• What's new: The USDA has launched a new online portal for AFIDA filings, released updated data on foreign land ownership and penalty assessments, and is considering disclosure rule changes.
• Why it matters: These developments are relevant to any foreign individual or entity acquiring or disposing of U.S. agricultural land, and AFIDA often becomes a consideration in energy projects and even business acquisitions not focused on agricultural land use.

New AFIDA Reporting Portal Carries Action Plan Forward

On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it was launching a new online portal for filings pursuant to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA). The AFIDA statute requires any foreign individual or entity to file a report when the individual or entity acquires or disposes of agricultural land in the United States. Because of the statute's expansive definition of agricultural land, AFIDA often becomes a relevant consideration in business acquisitions even if they are not focused on agricultural land use. Although AFIDA reporting has not historically been a major focus of regulators, the Trump administration has stated its intention to strengthen enforcement in order to protect U.S. farmland. The administration released a National Farm Security Action Plan in July 2025 (Action Plan). While the new online portal was included as part of the Action Plan, the portal was initially required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The Action Plan states that the filing portal will "facilitate [i] timely sharing of filings with the public and [ii] increasing the civil penalty imposed for late and knowingly false filings." Prior to the online portal, AFIDA filers usually filed the required report with the Farm Service Agency at the local county office where the land was located. According to the USDA's press release, filers can still choose to file with the local county office. In addition to the filing portal, the USDA previously launched a portal that allows the public to anonymously submit tips to the USDA about potential noncompliance with AFIDA. This tip portal was also included as part of the Action Plan.

Proposed Rulemaking

The administration is also contemplating further changes to AFIDA. In December 2025, the USDA issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking feedback on a potential new rule that would modernize the AFIDA process. The comment period ended on January 28, 2026, and a total of eighteen comments were submitted. The USDA will now decide whether to issue a proposed rule for public consideration; there is no set timeline for when the agency might do so.

The Latest Foreign Ownership Data

The USDA also released its annual report to Congress on AFIDA filing data. The report includes data on foreign ownership of land through December 31, 2024:

• The landholding data is largely the same as in the previous year: Foreign investors held an interest in 46 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, an increase of 1.3 million acres from the prior year.
• The countries with the largest landholdings are Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
• The USDA also examined long-term leases for wind farms held by foreign investors (leases over ten years require reporting under AFIDA), finding that foreign investors were holding 10.6 million acres of agricultural land under long-term leases.

One interesting data point in the new report is that the amount of damages assessed in 2025 was significantly lower than in 2024 despite the Trump administration's stated intent to strengthen AFIDA enforcement. According to the report, the total penalties assessed in 2025 was only $245,357, compared to over $1.2 million in penalties assessed in 2024.¹

Footnote

1 While the annual report contains landholding data for 2024, it includes penalties assessed through December 31, 2025.

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