This article was originally posted at 11:39 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, July 8. It was updated with additional comments from Sygenta at 7:03 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, July 8.

**

OMAHA (DTN) -- The Trump administration is pushing to ban new Chinese ownership of American farmland and increase scrutiny of Chinese ownership of major agribusinesses such as Smithfield Foods and Syngenta.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins led a team of other Cabinet officials, Republican governors and members of Congress at USDA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to announce a new "National Farm Security Action Plan" that will target China and other foreign adversaries. Rollins said the effort will "address one of the most significant national security threats facing our nation."

Rollins said U.S. agriculture is facing a threat from increased foreign ownership of U.S. food production. Farms, she said, "are weapons that can be turned against us."

"Every family, every home, every community depends on what our farmers do, and they support and sustain us, not merely by keeping us materially fed, but by keeping us spiritually strong," Rollins said. "The farms' produce is not just a commodity, it is a way of life that underpins America itself, and that's exactly why it is under threat from criminals, from political adversaries and from hostile regimes that understand our way of life as a profound and existential threat to themselves."

The security plan has seven action items, Rollins said, which include "actively engaging every level of government" to pass laws or take executive actions to ban the purchase of U.S. farmland by Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries.

Individual states have increasingly introduced and passed legislation to ban foreign land sales to China, as well as Iran, North Korea and Russia. Bills in Congress have also repeatedly passed the House or Senate, though no specific bill has been signed into federal law.

As part of USDA's action plan, Rollins also said it would be tightening up agricultural research with "no more sweetheart deals and secret pacts with countries that do not have our best interests in mind."

Also, USDA is canceling "seven active agreements with entities from foreign countries of concern" and has removed 70 citizens of other countries tied to USDA contracts or research arrangements. "And we are working to issue regulatory action to remove 550 entities from foreign countries of concern from our preferred catalog," Rollins said.

CLAW BACK FROM SMITHFIELD, SYNGENTA

Also, as part of the action plan, Rollins said the Trump administration would use its authorities "to claw back what has already been purchased by China and other foreign adversaries."

Rollins was specifically asked about clawing back property owned by companies such as Smithfield Foods and Syngenta. Rollins suggested an executive order could come from the White House. "We'll be looking at multiple, different authorities within the federal government to begin to claw that back," she said.

Peter Navarro, President Trump's trade adviser, specifically linked USDA's action plan to targeting Smithfield Foods and Syngenta. Navarro pointed out that China, the world's dominant consumer of pork, took over about one-eighth of the world's pork supply by buying Smithfield.

"When they acquired Smithfield Foods and the entire pork chain, that becomes a weapon in itself," he said.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., expanded on foreign control of meat processing in the U.S. by noting that not only Smithfield, but JBS, which is based in Brazil, may control as much as 20% to 25% of U.S. protein production. "That's just wrong."

Navarro also noted that Chinese nationals had been stealing U.S. seeds until they bought Syngenta. "Seeds really can be the revolution that keeps the world fed, and China now owns a key part of that."

SMITHFIELD RESPONDS

In a response to DTN, a spokesperson for Smithfield commented that the company employs 33,000 people in the U.S. and partners with thousands of American farmers. Smithfield is now publicly traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and the company's American management team remains based in Smithfield, Virginia.

"Our products are produced in the United States, and the vast majority are consumed in the U.S. We primarily export offal to China, cuts of the pig that are not typically consumed in the U.S.," Smithfield stated.

Smithfield is a majority-owned subsidiary of WH Group Limited, a publicly traded company based on Hong Kong. "WH Group is not a Chinese state-owned enterprise and does not undertake any commercial activities on behalf of the Chinese government," Smithfield stated.

Smithfield's sale to WH Group was also approved by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) in 2013.

SYNGENTA ALSO POINTS TO U.S. WORKFORCE

Responding to DTN late Tuesday, Syngenta noted the company employs more than 4,000 people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and operates manufacturing, research and development, and distribution facilities in more than 20 states. The company continues to invest in the U.S. with more than $315 million in capital investments in recent years. Syngenta also spends $2 billion a year buying U.S. goods and services.

Syngenta said the company's ownership of U.S. farmland is small.

"Syngenta is already in the process of selling its remaining farmland in the U.S. and currently owns less than 1,000 agricultural acres in the U.S., acreage that is the equivalent of roughly 3 Iowa farms," the company stated. "This land has been used to ensure that products are developed and tested locally, meaning American farmers have access to the products best suited to their farm's needs. For example, testing soybeans in Wisconsin does not guarantee they will be the best option for soybean producers in Georgia -- they need to be tested in that location."

Syngenta's land holdings and business acquisitions also have been examined by CFIUS "through several administrations, including the previous Trump administration. Syngenta regularly discloses its real estate interests to CFIUS to maintain transparency and operates in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations."

Syngenta added that additional constraints on the company's ability to operate in the U.S. would reduce farmer choice and likely increase input costs for farmers.

"We are proud to have been a trusted partner to American farmers for more than 50 years. Our mission is to help American farmers grow safe and plentiful food, and to strengthen rural communities across the country."

GOVERNORS TOUT THEIR EFFORTS

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders talked about in 2023 when she fined Syngenta for not filing state paperwork over one of its seed research facilities. Arkansas also ordered Syngenta to sell the property. "I'm so proud of the fact that Arkansas was the first state in the country to kick a Chinese-owned company off our farmland and out of our state, and we made them pay for it," she said.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a pork producer, said he has raised concerns about China and the pork industry. He added that his state has passed legislation to ban Chinese telecommunications equipment and banned land sales to foreign entities. He also boasted he had refused to meet with Syngenta officials and told them to leave the state. He then pointed to Syngenta selling a seed facility in Nebraska last month to Beck's Hybrids.

"I'm really, really proud to announce that Syngenta has sold their business in Nebraska to a family-owned genetics company from the United States, so we're really excited about that," Pillen said.

ROLLINS ON CFIUS

The action plan also will put greater emphasis on looking more closely at farmland sales to any foreign buyer.

Rollins also said she has now officially been added as a member of CFIUS, which is an interagency committee that oversees national security risks of foreign investments. Lawmakers have been trying to grant the agriculture secretary a permanent seat on that committee.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department will "use every tool at our disposal" to tighten controls on foreign entities. She pointed to the arrests last month of Chinese nationals in Michigan who were caught smuggling a fungus into the country -- "potential agro-terrorism weapons," Bondi said. She also said DOJ was cracking down on pesticide trafficking of "illegal and highly toxic chemicals from Mexico."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth; Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee; Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., also spoke at the USDA press event.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP DETAILS

USDA shows Chinese companies reported owning 277,336 acres of land as of Dec. 23, 2023.

Murphy Brown LLC (Smithfield Foods) owns 89,218 acres, and Brazos Highland Properties LP owns 86,994 acres and "were by far the largest Chinese holders of agricultural land." Other Chinese-owned companies with large holdings include Murphy Brown of Missouri (Smithfield/WH Holdings) with another 43,091; Harvest Texas LLC owns 29,705 acres; and U.S. Agri Chemicals Corp owns 11,263 acres. Together, those five companies account for 94% of all Chinese land holdings.

USDA's 2023 report, the latest available, also revised down the amount of Chinese-owned land from the 2022 report, which was listed at 346,915 acres.

States with the most land owned by Chinese investors include Texas with 123,708 acres; North Carolina, 44,263 acres; Missouri, 42,905 acres; Utah, 33,035 acres; and Florida, 12,798 acres. Those five states account for 93% of Chinese-owned acreage. USDA noted Texas has a lot of Chinese-owned land tied to wind-energy investments.

Overall, USDA reports nearly 45 million acres of farm ground and privately held forests -- about 3.5% -- is owned by foreign buyers.

USDA annual reports on foreign land ownership: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/…

Also see "Chinese Nationals Arrested for Smuggling Dangerous Crop Pathogen Into US" here:

https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.