Nearly every state in the country has seen an increase in foreign interests owning farmland since 2014, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Foreign countries and interests own more than 45 million acres of farmland in the country, which accounts for just over 3 percent of the nation’s private farmland, but the number of agricultural acres owned by foreign interests increased by 67 percent from 2014 to 2023.
The USDA tracks foreign investors “who acquire, transfer, or hold an interest in” U.S. agricultural land.
While Texas, Colorado and Maine have the largest amount of foreign-owned agricultural land in the U.S., other states have seen dramatic increases in the past 10 years.
Foreign-owned farmland in Nebraska increased five times since 2014 — from more than 153,000 acres to 936,000 in 2023. In Oklahoma, foreign-owned ag land has nearly quadrupled in the same time — increasing from more than 371,000 to 1.8 million over that same time period.
Half of the states have imposed laws that ban foreign ownership, but approaches vary by state. Congress has proposed specific bans on companies with ties to China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.
Flourish map and chart provided by Investigate Midwest
North Korea owns no U.S. farmland while Iranian and Russian interests hold roughly 3,000 acres as of 2023, the majority of which is owned by Iran, according to USDA data.
China only owns a sliver of land in the U.S., according to USDA data. China owns less than 1 percent compared to Canada, which owns one-third of farmland in the country.
Chinese-owned companies held more than 277,000 acres of U.S. farmland in 2023, with the bulk controlled by Syngenta Seeds, Smithfield Foods — a pork processor — and a private solar panel firm.
Speaking earlier this year at the Ag Leaders dinner in Iowa, an annual gathering of agricultural industry, state commissioners and federal officials, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said her agency and President Donald Trump are targeting Chinese-owned farmland bans, calling it a threat to national security and economic prosperity.
Five Black U.S. farmworkers from Mississippi have filed a federal lawsuit against prominent Mississippi Delta farmer Gregory Carr, accusing him of systemic discrimination by favoring White South African workers over local Black employees. The lawsuit alleges that Carr misused the H-2A visa program, resulting in thousands of dollars in unpaid wages for the American workers.
The suit — lodged in federal court in Greenville by Southern Migrant Legal Services, a project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and the Mississippi Center for Justice — makes allegations that Carr exploited the H-2A visa program. This federal program permits U.S. agricultural employers to hire foreign workers only when they can demonstrate a shortage of available and qualified domestic workers for the positions.
The plaintiffs., Michael Anthony Nash, Jimmy Shaw, Vinnie Cason, Grant Lewis, and Charleston Taurvonta Harris, are all natives of the Mississippi Delta who worked as seasonal farmworkers for Carr. According to the complaint, Carr has been hiring White workers from South Africa through the H-2A program since at least 2018.
The core of the lawsuit claims that while Carr paid the H-2A workers the legally mandated, and higher, Adverse Effect Wage Rate, he compensated the Black U.S. farmworkers at a significantly lower rate of $10 per hour for performing the same or similar agricultural tasks. For instance, the AEWR in Mississippi ranged from $10.73 in 2018 to $14.83 in 2025, rates the plaintiffs allege they were denied.
Image courtesy of UPL Corporation Ltd.
“This is an action for damages and declaratory relief for unpaid wages, breach of contract, and unlawful discrimination brought by five Black American farmworkers who have been systematically underpaid and denied job opportunities for years in favor of white foreign workers by their employer, Gregory Carr,” states the preliminary statement of the complaint.
The lawsuit further contends that Carr deliberately misclassified his Black U.S. workers as independent contractors. This alleged misclassification meant Carr failed to make required Social Security and Medicare contributions, pay employer-side payroll taxes, and provide other employment benefits, thereby increasing the tax burden on the workers and potentially rendering them ineligible for unemployment benefits. The complaint notes, “Each year, Plaintiffs were issued 1099-NEC Forms (1099-MISC Forms before 2020), even though they were employees of Gregory Carr and were not independent contractors.”
“The H-2A program allows American farmers to hire foreign labor when no U.S. workers are available,” said Tessa Pulaski of SMLS, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys. “It does not allow farmers to pay their American workforce less than the foreign workers and misclassify them.”
The complaint alleges that Carr, through his business Intrepid Inc. (which has been administratively dissolved since 2019 but allegedly continues to be used to hire H-2A workers), submitted H-2A applications falsely claiming a lack of available U.S. workers.
“Each of these reports stated that Gregory Carr had contacted his former U.S. employees by phone or e-mail, that he had offered them employment at the wages and job terms described in his H-2A applications, and that none of them were available to help fill the manpower needs identified in his H-2A application. These statements were false,” the lawsuit asserts. It also highlights that, “None of the South African H-2A workers hired by Gregory Carr have been Black, despite the fact that Black people constitute the overwhelming majority of the South African populace.”
Carr does not appear to have yet made any public responses to this lawsuit, and contact information was not available at the time of publication. The suit was filed Thursday, and plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.
Kimberly Jones Merchant, President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice, stated, “The intentional underpayment and misclassification of Black farmworkers in favor of white foreign labor not only violates federal law but has become increasingly common in the Mississippi Delta, holding our communities back for generations and perpetuating the historical exploitation faced by Black agricultural workers in our community.”
Image by weera sreesam, Shutterstock
The lawsuit details numerous alleged violations, including:
Failing to offer U.S. workers the same benefits, wages, and working conditions as H-2A workers.
Failing to keep accurate pay records and provide legally required wage statements.
Offering additional hours of employment, particularly weekend work, more frequently to the white South African H-2A workers than to the plaintiffs.
Informing plaintiffs like Nash, Harris, and Shaw at various times that no further work was available, even as white South African H-2A workers continued to be employed
Failing to provide adequate safety gear, such as body harnesses or boatswain chairs, for dangerous work in grain bins, as required by OSHA regulations.
Failing to display DOL posters informing workers of their rights under the AWPA and H-2A program.
The suit also includes an allegation that a supervisor used a racial slur towards plaintiff Jimmy Shaw. “Plaintiff Shaw also experienced racial animus from one of
Gregory Carr’s white South African H-2A workers, who, on information and belief, served in a supervisory role over Shaw. This supervisor used the n-word several times to refer to Shaw within earshot of him, which distressed him,” the complaint details.
Marion Delaney of SMLS commented, “This case shows how the H-2A program can be manipulated to exclude and underpay Black American workers. Federal protections are only meaningful if we enforce them — and that’s exactly what our clients are demanding through this lawsuit.”
The lawsuit asks the court to find that Carr violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, federal anti-discrimination laws (specifically 42 U.S.C. § 1981, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and citizenship status in contracts), and breached employment contracts with the plaintiffs. They seek unpaid wages, statutory damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.
This legal action is the ninth such case filed by SMLS and MCJ challenging what they describe as discriminatory labor practices by farmers in the Mississippi Delta. The organizations report that previous similar cases were all settled, resulting in significant wage recoveries for local Black workers.
Here’s every corn grower’s chance to show off their high yields for 2025 — and to share a bit of education with their fellow farmers. The National Corn Growers Association has kicked off the 61st annual Yield Contest today. For six decades, this event has celebrated the ingenuity, resilience, and drive of America’s corn growers — those who continuously push the limits of what’s possible in modern agriculture.
It’s where we’ve seen growers top an astounding 600 bu/A on multiple occasions.
The 2025 contest is now open for entries through August 13, offering growers across the country a chance to compete, learn, and showcase their success. New this year, Class J: Nitrogen Management is now open to growers in all states, following two successful years as a limited pilot class.
The overarching rules are:
Entrant must be a producer and member of the National Corn Growers Association and have a current membership paid through December 31 of the current year. The National membership also includes membership in the grower’s State association (if applicable).
Be at least 14 years of age at the time of entry. Proof of age may be requested.
Only individuals can enter the Yield Contest. The membership number used to enter the contest must have a corn producer’s name listed as well as the member’s current email address. A member may enter multiple times with multiple hybrids and in multiple categories and the highest ranked hybrid will receive the award.
Memberships in multiple family names all belonging to the same farming operation must be active participants in the farming operation. Furthermore, each contest plot must be clearly assigned and labeled prior to harvest.
Across 10 categories, winners receive national recognition in publications such as the NCYC Corn Yield Guide, as well as trips or other awards from participating sponsoring seed, chemical, and crop protection companies. This year’s sponsors are BASF, John Deere, and Pioneer.
“What began as a modest competition has evolved into a cornerstone of our industry,” said NCGA President and Illinois corn grower Kenneth Hartman Jr. “Each year we honor not only the achievements of past participants but also the forward-looking spirit that defines today’s growers.”
The Youth Empowering Agriculture — Research Extension Apprenticeship Program works with 1890 land-grant universities to pair 4-H students with college-age mentors.
