By Chicago Times Magazine –
January 1, 2026
US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced a series of coordinated actions Tuesday aimed at tightening oversight of foreign involvement in American agriculture and ensuring federal programs prioritize U.S. farmers and manufacturers. The measures, framed as part of the USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan, are intended to keep agricultural research and innovation within the United States and allied nations and to prevent sensitive ideas and supply chains from falling under the control of hostile actors.
The package of steps includes an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, or AFIDA, opening the door for public comment as the department moves to modernize reporting and verification requirements. USDA officials said the changes are designed to improve monitoring of foreign purchases of agricultural land and to make AFIDA data more reliable and transparent to the public.
“Strengthening national security starts with knowing who owns our farmland and where federal dollars are flowing,” Secretary Rollins said in a statement. “These actions close long-standing gaps in oversight and enforcement by improving transparency around foreign land ownership and ensuring USDA programs support American farmers and manufacturers, while prioritizing domestic supply chains — not foreign adversaries.”
Under current law, foreign investors who acquire, transfer or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land must report those transactions to USDA. The department’s action plan calls for aggressive reforms to the AFIDA process, including improved verification and monitoring of collected data. USDA also said the regulatory review will complement an existing Memorandum of Understanding with the Treasury Department that formalizes cooperation on CFIUS cases involving agricultural land transfers.
USDA officials highlighted the scale of the issue, noting that entities linked to foreign adversaries currently control at least 277,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land. The department described each acre as a potential vulnerability to food supply chains, a vector for agroterrorism and a possible platform for surveillance or sabotage of military bases and critical infrastructure.
In addition to AFIDA changes, the department announced updates to the BioPreferred Program and guaranteed lending programs to strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled energy sources. The BioPreferred Program, which supports domestic manufacturing and the purchase of U.S. biobased products to spur economic development and create jobs, will no longer be available to entities or products from countries designated as foreign adversaries. USDA said current participants will be subject to audits and could be removed for noncompliance.
The department noted that the BioPreferred Program is funded through Sept. 30, 2026, and emphasized that the combined actions reflect a broader commitment to treating American agriculture as a matter of national security. USDA officials said the moves are intended to address urgent threats posed by foreign adversaries and to bolster the resilience of the nation’s food and agricultural systems.
