Foreign Investors Hold 47 Million U.S. Farm Acres

USDA data for 2024 show foreign-held U.S. agricultural land rose about 3% from the prior year.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Agriculture

Isometric editorial illustration of a plowed farm field in mustard rows with a single slate grain silo under flat overcast light. — Foreign investors held about 47.24 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in 2024, up roughly 3% from 44.9 million acres a year earlier, USDA data show. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that foreign investors held interests in approximately 47.24 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in 2024, up from 44.9 million acres in 2023. The increase of about 2.34 million acres marks roughly a 3% rise in a single year.

Why it matters

The figures track foreign ownership of farmland and forest acreage that is reported under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act. Growth in foreign holdings over time is a closely watched measure of who controls productive land in the United States.

Forestland accounted for about 22.2 million acres of foreign holdings in 2024 and cropland for about 13.7 million acres, with the rest in other agricultural uses. The breakdown by investor nationality and by land type over the year is not detailed in the available figures.

The players

U.S. Department of Agriculture

The federal department that compiles and publishes the foreign agricultural land ownership data under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act.

The details

The USDA compiled the 2024 totals in its Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act report, which records foreign interests in U.S. agricultural land. Foreign-owned timber and forest products companies made substantial investments in forestland, contributing to the large share of acreage in that category.

2010: Foreign investors held about 24.8 million acres of U.S. agricultural land.
2023: Foreign investors held about 44.9 million acres.
2024: Foreign investors held about 47.24 million acres, the most recent USDA total.

Market Landscape

Under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, the USDA has tracked foreign holdings of U.S. farmland and forest acreage over more than a decade. The 2024 total continues a rise from about 24.8 million acres in 2010, showing sustained growth in foreign ownership of productive land.

Rising foreign ownership of farmland can affect land prices and the availability of acreage for domestic farmers and buyers. The extraction does not specify how the increase will change local land markets or farm operations.

The takeaway

Foreign ownership of U.S. farmland has grown substantially since 2010, and the 2024 USDA figures show the trend continuing. Readers tracking land markets should watch future USDA reports for updated totals.