SD lawmakers question foreign-owned land

South Dakota lawmakers are advancing a number of bills that would curb Chinese influence in South Dakota’s farmland.

Republican Rep. Will Mortenson proposed investigating partnerships between landowners and foreign entities.

Last week, Republican Sen. Erin Tobin proposed an act to create the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to regulate foreign purchases of agricultural land from out-of-country buyers.

Tobin has been in discussion with states like North Dakota, where China’s government bought a tract of land near the Grand Forks Air Force Base. She said that was an eye-opener to the rest of the country about the lack of knowledge about who is taking ownership in state land and for what purpose.

Foreign entities and individuals control less than 3% of U.S. farmland, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Of that, those with ties to China control less than 1%, or roughly 600 square miles (340 square kilometers).