Farmland, Foreign Interests and Politics: The Renewed Focus on AFIDA

The US Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA) requires foreign entities, and US entities with as little as 10% foreign ownership, to file a report with the USDA Farm Service Agency within 90 days of buying or leasing agricultural land. Many US companies that use agricultural land for non-ag purposes, such as renewable energy development and data center construction, do not know about AFIDA. Kelley Drye files more AFIDA reports than any other filer in the Act's history and is active in current legislative initiatives that seek to add new disclosure requirements and increased penalties. We expect to see major legislative changes in late 2024. AFIDA reform is in the must-pass 2024 Farm Bill and a number of standalone bills.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Identify how AFIDA applies, who it impacts, and what it requires

2. Review how to complete Form FSA-153 and work with FSA filing staff

3. Examine how late- and non-filing penalties and "downward adjustments" to base penalties work under current law

4. Analyze trends in AFIDA compliance (e.g., wind and solar are filing two out of three reports now, federal subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act fueling an expansion in renewable energy development activity)

5. Discuss What's Next: Overview of current legislative proposals to tighten restrictions, migrate to online filing, enhance FSA data mining and other tools to identify nonfilers for enforcement, impose new CFIUS requirements, and strengthen penalties for violators