OPINION: Paranoia about foreigners is at an all-time high in the US and attention is now turning to foreign-owned farmland.
The Farm Journal reports that the Trump administration is focusing on national security in agriculture, which includes action to "eliminate foreign-owned farmland", especially surrounding U.S. military bases.
The USDA unveiled the National Farm Security Action Plan two weeks ago, aimed at "protecting and securing American farmland from foreign influence".
The plan is the next pillar of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' 'Make Agriculture Great Again' initiative that "elevates American agriculture as a key element of our nation's national security".
"Too much American land is owned by nationals of adversarial countries, and more than 265,000 acres in the United States are owned by Chinese nationals, much of which is located near critical U.S. military bases," Rollins told reporters.