JEFFERSON CITY — A push to ban foreign companies from buying farmland in Missouri may be gaining momentum.
As state lawmakers begin filing bills for their upcoming legislative session, at least four members have introduced legislation calling for a prohibition on the further acquisition of acreage by foreign entities.
The renewed push comes after the issue became a flashpoint in Missouri’s recent U.S. Senate election. Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine criticized Republican Eric Schmitt for voting as a state senator in 2013 to allow the sale of Missouri farmland to “communists in China.”
And it comes after Democrats led an effort to ban foreign governments from purchasing or leasing agricultural land in California.
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“People have come to realize that this is a big issue, that people really care about it,” said Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton.
Before a Chinese company acquired Smithfield Foods, Missouri banned all foreign ownership of agricultural land. That rule was changed to allow foreign entities to own up to 1% of the state’s farmland.
Smithfield, now a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based WH Group, owned approximately 42,000 acres of farmland in Missouri as of 2015. Missouri has about 28 million acres of farmland, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
Beck introduced legislation that would prevent any additional purchases over the 1% rule beginning Aug. 28, 2023.
It mirrors previous bills Beck has backed dating to 2020.
“I think it becomes a food security issue for us and a national security issue for us,” Beck said.
Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, also has introduced legislation that would limit foreign real estate ownership. Eigel is exploring whether to run for governor in 2024.
Also sponsoring similar measures are Sen.-elect Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, and Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, both of whom have ties to Missouri agriculture.
Bean’s proposal would lower the threshold to half of 1% and prohibit foreign ownership within 30 miles of military operations.
Missouri’s law against foreign agricultural ownership dates to 1978, when increased foreign investment in the U.S. was creating concerns about economic autonomy. The law said no foreign entity could own farmland in Missouri.
Since the law was changed, Smithfield now operates 132 company-owned farms and 109 contract farms along with a pork facility in Milan.
During a hearing in March on Beck’s previous proposal, some environmental and agriculture groups supported the idea.
Land title companies, however, signaled their opposition to the change, saying it will become too burdensome to police by the Department of Agriculture because it will apply to all tracts of agriculture land 5 acres or larger.
The Missouri Pork Association and the Missouri Realtors Association also opposed the proposal.
Smithfield and other farm-related groups have been heavy contributors to politicians and political action committees.
In 2022, for example, the PAC for the pork association received $75,000 from Smithfield. In 2020, the MO-PORK PAC netted $76,000 from the company.
A PAC that raises money for Gov. Mike Parson received $20,000 in 2020, while the House Republican Campaign Committee received $15,000 in 2018.
