Capital Press
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, September 3, 2021
Volume 94, Number 36
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WHO OWNS THE WEST?
Foreign investors are buying Western U.S. farmland.
I
Who’s investing and why?
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
n recent decades, foreign investors have bought
more than 35 million acres of U.S. farmland
worth $62 billion — about 2.7% of all privately
held land nationwide, an area larger than New
York state.
And foreign investors continue to buy, accord-
ing to USDA.
Some American farmers view foreign investment as
benefi cial, expanding markets and access to capital. Oth-
ers view it as a threat to national security, food system
resiliency and land access.
The issue surfaced as a hot topic in Congress this sum-
mer after Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., proposed legis-
lation to ban the Chinese government from buying U.S.
farmland.
“Allowing this practice to continue would lead to the
creation of a Chinese-owned agricultural monopoly and
pose an immediate threat to U.S. national security and
food security,” Newhouse said.
The legislation is moving through Congress.
Newhouse is right that China is a big player. Accord-
ing to 2018 USDA data, Chinese investment in the agri-
cultural sector has grown tenfold in a decade.
But most of China’s investments have been in the meat
sector and the Midwest. Investment often takes a diff er-
ent shape in the West. In four Western farm states — Cal-
ifornia, Oregon, Washington and Idaho — China doesn’t
even make it onto the list of top 10 investors.
So, who is buying farmland in the West, and what are
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Pres
David Millman, CEO and president of Domaine
Drouhin Oregon.
their intentions?
Big players in the West are from Canada, Europe and
Japan. Top investments include timber, tree fruit, wine-
grapes, manufacturing and processing, real estate devel-
opment and renewable energy.
Tracking buyers
To uncover which countries are investing in American
soil and why, the Capital Press requested a database of
public records from USDA through the Freedom of Infor-
mation Act.
The database is called the Agricultural Foreign Invest-
ment Disclosure Act, created in response to a law Con-
gress passed in 1978 requiring foreign buyers to report
transactions.
The database covers the years 1900 through 2019,
although records are patchy prior to 1978. USDA is still
compiling the 2020 list, said Amanda Heitkamp, USDA
spokeswoman.
The database tracks investments in cropland, pasture-
land, forestland and “other” farmland.
According to USDA staff , outside investments are on
the rise. Filings show foreign holdings of American farm-
land increased by 141% between 2004 and 2019.
This, experts say, is a conservative estimate. That’s
because, although the 1978 law required foreigners to
report land purchases, the requirement is not enforced.
Joe Maxwell, president and CEO of Family Farm
Action, a group that advocates on behalf of small fam-
ily farmers against corporate behemoths, said he believes
the database, though useful, “woefully underreports” the
number of foreign investments.
“It’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “We believe
what’s being reported is just a thimbleful of what’s actu-
ally out there.”
The only way to accurately trace all foreign holdings,
land use experts say, would be to piece together records
from every county assessor’s offi ce in the nation — a
mammoth project.
“It’s just really diffi cult to track,” said Jim Johnson,
land use and water planning coordinator at the Oregon
Department of Agriculture.
Changing hands
Farmland, once in someone’s hands, doesn’t always
stay there.
Although USDA reports foreigners hold an interest in
See Investors, Page 11
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
A historic barn near the Teton Mountains in Wyoming. Neighboring Teton County, Idaho, has seen huge foreign investments in farmland.
Conditions still ripe for Northwest wildfi res
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
PORTLAND — A long and
grueling wildfi re season across the
Pacifi c Northwest isn’t over yet.
Conditions remain good for
more blazes in parts of Oregon
and Washington suff ering from
extreme drought, said Ian Rickert,
regional fi re management plan-
ning specialist for the U.S. For-
est Service and Bureau of Land
Management.
Rickert was one of eight panel-
ists representing state and federal
agencies during a virtual wildfi re
briefi ng on Aug. 25. His presen-
Inciweb
The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon burns at night.
tation emphasized how contin-
ued dry weather may contribute to
a rapid spread of new fi res, espe-
cially along the Cascade Range
into eastern Washington and south-
ern Oregon.
“The most pronounced eff ect is
the amplifi ed drying we see in for-
ested systems,” Rickert said. “It
stresses the trees, which decreases
fuel moisture. They support com-
bustion easily.”
As of Aug. 24, some 2,933 fi res
had burned 909,387 acres in Ore-
gon and Washington, according to
the National Interagency Fire Cen-
ter. That is less than the 1.9 million
acres burned at this time last year,
but more than the 10-year average
of 890,063 acres.
Recent wetting rains in northern
Washington and northeast Oregon
have helped to moderate wildfi re
conditions in those areas, Rickert
said.
However, parts of the Cascades
and southwest Oregon have not
seen any measurable precipitation
for more than 70 days, increas-
ing the probability of active fi re
behavior.
Several large fi res continue to
burn along the densely forested
western slope of the Oregon Cas-
cades, including the Bull Com-
plex in the Mount Hood National
Forest near Detroit; the Mid-
dle Fork Complex in the Willa-
mette National Forest southeast of
Eugene; and the Jack Fire in the
Umpqua National Forest east of
Roseburg.
“Should we get weather events
that result in high winds, instability
See Wildfi res, Page 11
Draft climate plan excludes carbon sequestration
Public comment
period ends Oct. 4
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — A new program aimed
at signifi cantly curbing Oregon’s
greenhouse gas emissions is coming
under criticism for omitting invest-
ments that could help farms and for-
ests sequester more carbon from the
atmosphere.
The Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality released draft rules
for the Climate Protection Program
on Aug. 5 — similar to cap-and-trade
legislation thwarted twice in the state
Legislature by Senate Republicans
who fl ed the Capitol to deny a vote.
After the second walkout in 2020,
Gov. Kate Brown signed an execu-
tive order requiring Oregon DEQ and
TIME TO PLAN
for next year.
other state agencies to take action on
harmful emissions, targeting a 45%
reduction below 1990 levels by 2035
and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
Like cap and trade, the Climate
Protection Program sets a limit on
emissions that gradually lowers each
year.
Part of the program also allows
regulated utilities and fuel suppliers
to buy or trade off set credits to meet
their reduction goals, referred to as
Bank of Eastern Oregon
offers Operating Lines of
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“community climate investments,” or
CCIs.
CCIs would pay for a variety of
projects to transition Oregonians
from fossil fuels to cleaner, more sus-
tainable sources of energy, said Colin
McConnaha, who manages Oregon
DEQ’s Offi ce of Greenhouse Gas
Programs.
However, McConnaha said it will
See Plan, Page 11
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