The SOIL Act of 2025 (Security and Oversight for International Landholdings Act) would significantly expand federal oversight over foreign involvement in U.S. agricultural land. It tightens the screening process for foreign purchases or transfers of agricultural land and adds new review factors for land near military installations. It also blocks federal subsidies for agricultural land holdings tied to certain foreign nationals or governments, and expands the disclosure and reporting regime so the government and states receive more detailed information about who owns or leases farm land and where it’s located. The overall aim is to boost national security, transparency, and oversight of foreign influence in U.S. agricultural land while giving states and federal agencies more data to monitor ownership patterns. Key elements include: expanding CFIUS review to cover certain agricultural land transactions by nationals of designated countries; extending scrutiny to land near military bases; prohibiting federal assistance for holdings tied to restricted foreign entities; broadening AFIDA disclosures to include long-term leases; eliminating a minimum acreage exemption for reporting; and requiring an annual, publicly available, state- and county-level report on foreign-held agricultural land (with a focus on China, Russia, and other countries as identified by the Secretary of State/DNI).
Key Points
- 1Expands CFIUS review to include acquisitions or transfers (not just security interests) in agricultural land by non-U.S. nationals from countries designated as nonmarket economies or flagged as security threats, and extends review to certain leases with respect to agricultural land.
- 2Adds a 50-mile review radius around military installations for foreign real estate acquisitions or transfers (not limited to residential property), applying to parties from restricted countries.
- 3Prohibits federal subsidies or other federal assistance for agricultural land holdings wholly or partly owned by nationals of designated nonmarket economy countries or those identified as security threats.
- 4Updates the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reporting to require disclosure of acquisitions, transfers, and leases of agricultural land (leases longer than 5 years count), and removes a prior minimum acreage exemption.
- 5Requires an annual, publicly available report on foreign-held agricultural land, including:
- 6- State-by-state and county-by-county analyses of foreign ownership,
- 7- Country-by-country analyses focusing on China, Russia, and any other country the Secretary deems appropriate,
- 8- An analysis of how the land is used (sectors/industries),
- 9- Transmission of the report to state agriculture agencies.