Canadian investors own almost one percent of all American farmland (2024)

FAQs

How much U.S. farmland is owned by Canada? ›

It's actually Canada, which accounts for 32%, or 14.2 million acres. Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands at 12%, Italy at 6%, the United Kingdom at 6% and Germany at 5%.

Which countries own the most land in the U.S.? China holds only about 1% of all foreign-owned land in the United States, while Canada owns nearly a third. Canada holds 31% of all foreign owned land, with the Netherlands and Italy following with 12 and 7% respectively.

Hedge against inflation. As inflation climbs, many investments can plummet in value. Farmland, on the other hand, has seen its value increase during inflationary periods, making it an effective hedge against rising prices. This cushion can be particularly valuable to those with an ultra-high net worth.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, foreign investors and companies own over 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, which is about 1.8% of all land in the U.S. and 3.1% of all privately held agricultural land.

Canada remains the largest foreign investor, accounting for 32% of the acres, much of which are forest in Maine. China's holdings, a primary concern of lawmakers who want to restrict foreign ownership of farms, account for less than 1% of foreign-owned acres at 350,000, a slight decrease from 2021.

1) The United States Government

The largest landowner in the country is not a person or family, but rather the United States government itself. The government owns a staggering near-650 million acres of land, which accounts for roughly 28% of all land in the country.

According to a 2021 report by the Department of Agriculture, China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land; ownership which jumped by 30% from 2019 to 2020.

Wealthy investors

Bill Gates hit the headlines in 2020 by becoming the country's largest owner of private farmland. At that time, he had about 269,000 acres in 18 states across America. Ted Turner, the media mogul, also owns 2 million acres of farmland, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns over 420,000 acres.

China currently holds 384,000 acres of land in the U.S., which is around 1% of all foreign-held acres. The total holdings for Saudi Arabian investors is about 36,000 acres. Despite its relatively small portion of the overall pie, China's foreign investment in agriculture abroad has increased rapidly in recent years.

China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019. And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota.

What percentage of U.S. farmland is foreign-owned? ›

Foreign persons held an interest in over 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land as of December 31, 2022. This is 3.4 percent of all privately held agricultural land and nearly 2 percent of all land in the United States.