By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s legislative session did not include the passage of a bill preventing foreign-owned farmlands in the state. While one was debated and discussed, it did not pass this session.
Some of the state’s political leaders believe a bill will be passed next session, however.
“It’s set up for next year. We really, just across the country now, are beginning to understand the influence of the Chinese in this country,” said Rep. Robert Dickey, chairman of the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee during a webinar on Wednesday hosted by the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. “We’re very worried about several of these foreign countries buying land here. I think we’ve got to protect our land from foreign ownership. That’s what these bills are starting to look at.”
Foreign investors now own nearly 37.6 million acres of agricultural land in the U.S., according to Mykel Taylor, ALFA (Alabama Farmers Federation) Eminent Scholar with Auburn University.
Non-Friendly Countries
The focus is on five countries deemed not friendly to the U.S. These include North Korea, China, Russia, Cuba and Iran. House Bill 452, initiated by Rep. Clay Pirkle, failed to gain traction in the state legislature. Dickey believes legislative success needs to be obtained sooner rather than later.
“I think we’ve got to be very proactive on that, and I think we can be able to be successful next year here in Georgia. I know that effort is going on across the country and getting a lot of attention,” Dickey said.
State Senator Russ Goodman agrees with Dickey’s assessment and believes a bill will be passed next year.
“In 2010, I think the Chinese owned about 13,000 acres of land in the United States. What is it now; 348,000 acres or something like that? What did they buy, 126 acres next to an Air Force Base in North Dakota supposedly for the purpose of putting in a feed mill? I didn’t realize there was that much money in the feed mill business to make you want to go 8,000 miles across the world to put in a feed mill,” Goodman said.
“We’re not talking about Germany, the Netherlands or any of these countries that are our friends. These folks like China, I feel like sometimes they’re playing chess and we’re playing checkers. We’ve got to realize that things, geopolitically, are in a completely different realm than where they were just a decade ago. I’m hoping we’re going to get something across the finish line next year.”