Foreign interests held 46.3 million acres of U.S. agricultural land at the end of 2024, representing about 3.6% of privately held agricultural land nationwide, according to USDA data.
Farmdoc Daily reports the total includes more than traditional farmland ownership.
Federal reporting requirements also cover certain long-term leases, including arrangements commonly used for wind and solar energy projects.
USDA says that nearly half of reported foreign-held acreage is forestland, while cropland accounts for 29% and pasture and other agricultural land represent about 22%.
Canadian interests account for the largest share of foreign-held agricultural acreage, driven largely by forestland holdings.
Farmdoc researchers noted that foreign holdings have increased in recent years but remain a relatively small portion of privately owned U.S. agricultural land.
The University of Illinois’ TIAA Center for Farmland Research has developed an interactive county-level map allowing users to examine foreign holdings by country, location and land use.
