(NewsNation) — Governors’ races across the nation are seeing an impact by the rise in Chinese farmland purchases in the U.S., posing a possible threat to the nation’s food supply chain and national security.
China’s efforts to buy up valuable American farmland have now risen to the highest levels of elected state offices in the heartland as a major campaign issue.
Gubernatorial candidates on both sides of the aisle in at least four states — Indiana, Missouri, Montana and North Dakota — are shining a light on foreign adversaries buying up American farmland and the threats it poses to residents in their state.
In Indiana, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch is raising awareness of a Chinese company trying to buy farmland near a military base. In a campaign ad, Crouch tells voters this is a top priority issue.
“When I saw that land next to our military site’s Naval Crane Warfare Center could be bought up, I stopped it,” Crouch said. “It’s not only about food security, it’s about national security. We don’t want to be dependent on other foreign countries for what we eat and so being able to protect our farmland is extremely critical here in Indiana and I’m fighting to do that.”
In Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte is running on a record of banning countries like China and Russia from purchasing agricultural land during his time in office.
Even his Democratic rival, Ryan Busse, told NewsNation this is an issue both parties agree on.
“We should be protecting our national security all the time. And obviously, about a year ago, right now, we had a Chinese spy balloon fly right over the middle of Montana,” Busse said. “I think that it is a bipartisan thing, and I’m in favor of banning foreign adversaries from owning our farmland. Absolutely.”
The USDA reports nearly 384,000 acres of agricultural land in the U.S. is owned by China. Over the past five years, Chinese ownership of American farmland has increased by 55%.