A bill banning foreign governments from owning agricultural land has passed unanimously in the North Dakota House. This issue came to a head with the proposed Fufeng corn wet milling project in Grand Forks. This project was sidelined due to its Chinese ownership and a possible risk to national security. An amendment was approved, allowing foreign-owned companies to own agricultural land to be used for research and field trials. Representative Craig Headland, who is a farmer from Montpelier, explained the amendment. “Most of the larger ag chemical companies are already foreign owned and in order for them to do their research here and limit their liability, they’ve bought property.”
