Corporate Farming & Land Ownership Laws

 

Overview

Several states have statutes or constitutional provisions that restrict the power of certain corporations to engage in farming or agriculture, or to acquire, purchase, or otherwise obtain land that is used or usable for agricultural production. Such legal provisions are commonly referred to as corporate farming laws, or anti-corporate farming laws. Most corporate farming laws are enacted as statutes rather than constitutional amendments. Nineteen states have laws that prohibit or limit corporate farming: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Read the full overview.

Note: Recently added resources are posted at the top of the applicable sections.

Major Statutes

Federal Laws

Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA), 7 U.S.C. §§ 3501 through 3508
Real Estate Investment Trusts, 26 U.S.C. §856 through 859

Corporate Farming

Arkansas, Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-11-110; 18-11-701 through 18-11-705
Florida, Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 692.201 through 692.205
Idaho, Idaho Code Ann. § 55-103
Indiana, Indiana Code Ann. §§ 32-22-3-0.5 through 32-22-3-6
Indiana, Indiana Code Ann. §§ 32-22-4-1 through 32-22-4-2
Iowa, Iowa Code §§ 9H.1 through 9H.5A
Iowa, Iowa Code §§ 202B.101 through 202B.402
Kansas, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 17-5904
Louisiana, La. Stat. Ann. § 9:2717.1
Minnesota, Minn. Stat. § 500.24
Missouri, Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 350.010 through 350.040
Montana, Sess. Law Ch. No. 343 (to be codified under Mont. Code Ann. tit. 35)
Nebraska, Neb. Const. Art. XII, § 8
North Dakota, N.D. Cent. Code §§ 10-06.1-01 through 10-06.1-27
Ohio, Ohio Rev. Stat. § 5301.256
Oklahoma, Const. Art. XXII, § 2
Oklahoma, Okla. Stat. tit. 18, §§ 951 through 956
Oklahoma, Okla. Stat. tit. 60, §§ 121 through 125
South Dakota, S.D. Codified Laws §§ 47-9A-1 through 47-9A-23
Tennessee, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-2-301 through 66-2-306
Utah, Utah Code Ann. §§ 63L-13-101 through 63L-13-202
Virginia, Va. Code Ann. §§ 55.1-507 through 55.1-508
Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. § 182.001

Foreign Ownership

Alabama, Ala. Act No 2023-332 (to be codified in the Ala. Code)
Arkansas, Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-11-110; 18-11-701 through 18-11-705
Florida, Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 692.201 through 692.205
Idaho, Idaho Code Ann. § 55-103
Indiana, Ind. Code Ann. §§ 32-22-3-0.5 through 32-22-3-6
Iowa, Iowa Code §§ 9H.1 through 9H.5A
Kansas, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 17-5904
Kentucky, Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 381.300
Louisiana, La. Stat. Ann. § 9:2717.1
Minnesota, Minn. Stat. Ann. § 500.221
Mississippi, Miss. Const. Art. 4, § 84
Mississippi, Miss. Code Ann. § 89-1-23
Missouri, Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 442.560 through 442.591
Montana, Sess. Law Ch. No. 343 (to be codified under Mont. Code Ann. tit. 35)
Nebraska, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-402 through 76-415
North Dakota, N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 47-01-09
North Dakota, N.D. Cent. Code Ann. §§ 47-10.1-01 through 47-10.1-06
Ohio, Ohio Rev. Stat. § 5301.256
Oklahoma, Okla. Const. art. XXII, §1
Oklahoma, Okla. Stat. tit. 60 §§ 121 through 125
Pennsylvania, 68 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 41 through 47
South Carolina, S.C. Const. art. III, § 35
South Carolina, S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-13-10 through 27-13-40
South Dakota, S.D. Codified Laws §§ 43-2A-1 through 43-2A-7
Tennessee, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-2-301 through 66-2-306
Utah, Utah Code Ann. §§ 63L-13-101 through 63L-13-202
Virginia, Va. Code Ann. §§ 55.1-507 through 55.1-508
Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. § 710.02

State-Level Reporting & Monitoring

Arkansas, Ark. Code Ann. § 2-3-111
Florida, Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 692.202 through 692.204
Illinois, 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 50/1 through 50/8
Indiana, Ind. Code Ann. § 32-22-3-6
Iowa, Iowa Code §§ 9I.7 through 9I.10; 9I.12
Iowa, Iowa Code §§ 10B.1 through 10B.7
Kansas, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 17-7505
Maine, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 7, §§ 31 through 36
Minnesota, Minn. Stat. Ann. § 500.221
Mississippi, HB 280 (to be codified at later date)
Missouri, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 442.592
Nebraska, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-1520 through 76-1524
North Dakota, N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 47-10.1-05
Ohio, Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §§ 5301.254; 5301.99
Pennsylvania, 68 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 45
South Dakota, S.D. Codified Laws § 43-2A-7
South Dakota, S.D. Codified Laws §§ 59-11-24 through 59-11-24.1
Tennessee, Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-2-305
Virginia, Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-509
Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. § 710.02

Regulations

Disclosure of Foreign Investment in Agricultural Land, 7 C.F.R. Part 781

Case Law

Case Law Index for Corporate Farming and Foreign Ownership Laws

Center Research Publications

Foreign Investments in Agricultural Land: FAQs & Resource Library (Brown, 2023)
Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land: A Legislative Roadmap (Brown, 2023)
Statutes Regulating Ownership of Agricultural Land (Brown, 2022)
Forms and Filing Information: Business Organizations (2019)
Right-to-Farm Statutes and Corporate Farming Laws (R. Rumley, 2009)
Market Concentration, Horizontal Consolidation, and Vertical Integration in the Hog and Cattle Industries: Taking Stock of the Road Ahead (Pittman, 2005)
The Constitutionality of Corporate Farming Laws in the Eighth Circuit (Pittman, 2004)
Part I: An Overview of Organizational and Ownership Options Available to Agricultural Enterprises (Goforth, 2002)
Part II: An Overview of Organizational and Ownership Options Available to Agricultural Enterprises (Goforth, 2002)

Agricultural Law Bibliography

Introduction   |   Keyword Search   |   Browse Categories

Legal publications on Corporate Farming Laws:

Corporate Farming (Restrictions on Corporate Farming/Family Farm Preservation)
Alien Land Ownership (Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land)
Organizational Forms for Agriculture (Business Law and Development)

Reference Resources

Farm Service Agency (FSA)

AFIDA Annual Reports
AFIDA Fact Sheet
FSA Handbook: Foreign Investment Disclosure (1-AFIDA, Rev. 2)

Economic Research Service (ERS)

Briefing Room: Farm Structure & Organization
Briefing Room: Farm Household Well-Being
U.S. Farmland Ownership, Tenure, and Transfer (Bigelow, Borchers, and Hubbs, 2016)
Publication: The Transformation of U.S. Livestock Agriculture: Scale, Efficiency and Risks (MacDonald & McBride, 2009)

Publications

Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land: A Legislative Roadmap Primer (Brown, 2023)
Senate Votes to PASS a Foreign Ownership Law (Brown, 2023)
Florida’s New Enacted Foreign Ownership Law: Part One (Brown, 2023)
Plaintiffs Challenging Florida’s Foreign Ownership Law Seek to Halt Enforcement (Brown, 2023)
Florida’s New Foreign Ownership Law Is Facing Legal Challenge: Part Two (Brown, 2023)
Florida’s New Foreign Ownership Law Is Facing Legal Challenge: Part One (Brown, 2023)
Idaho Enacts Law Limiting Foreign Investments in Agricultural Land (Brown, 2023)
Utah Enacts Law Prohibiting Certain Foreign Investments in Land (Brown, 2023)
Virginia’s Attempt to Restrict Foreign Agricultural Land Investments (Brown, 2023)
State Proposals on Restricting Foreign Ownership of Farmland: Part Seven (Brown, 2023)
State Proposals on Restricting Foreign Ownership of Farmland: Part Six (Brown, 2023)
State Proposals on Restricting Foreign Ownership of Farmland: Part Five (Brown, 2023)
State Proposals on Restricting Foreign Ownership of Farmland: Part Four (Brown, 2023)
State Proposals on Restricting Foreign Ownership of Farmland: Part Three (Brown, 2023)
Displaying the Data: Online AFIDA Database To Be Established (Brown, 2023)
Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agriculture: Select Policy Options (Johnson, 2023)
Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agriculture: Select Policy Options (Johnson, 2023)
State Proposals on Restricting Foreign Ownership of Farmland: Part Two (Brown, 2022)
State Proposals on Restricting Foreign Ownership of Farmland: Part One (Brown, 2022)
Congressional Considerations on Amending AFIDA (Brown, 2022)
Answering to AFIDA: Reporting Requirements of Foreign Agricultural Land Investments (Brown, 2022)
Congressional Considerations on Restricting Foreign Investments in U.S. Agriculture (Brown, 2022)
California’s Attempt to Restrict Foreign Agricultural Land Investments (Brown, 2022)
Restricting Foreign Farmland Investments: Alabama’s Proposed Constraints on Foreign Ownership (Brown, 2022)
The Growing Use of Alternative Farmland Ownership Methods in the U.S. (Boland, Keller, and Petty 2022)
Foreign Farmland Ownership in the United States (CRS Report by Renee Johnson, IF11977, Nov. 18, 2021)
Who Owns the FARM: Foreign Investments in US Agriculture (Brown, 2021)
Farmland Ownership: Trends and Future Implications (Sherrick, 2017)
Realization of the American Dream by Foreign Investors: Alien Agricultural Land Ownership in Iowa (Shelman, 2017)
Farmer’s Guide to Anti-Corporate Farming Laws (Armstrong et al., 2016)
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA): Overview and Recent Tax Revisions (CRS Report by Jane G. Gravelle, R44421, July 14, 2016)
The Battle Over America’s Farmlands: Corporate Farming Practices and Legislative Attempts at Preserving the Family Farm (Boomershine, 2016)
You Can’t Have Your Beef and Eat It Too: The Statutory Effect of Anti-Corporate Farming Acts on Family Farms and Beef Corporations (Trout, 2014)
Reforming Alien Agricultural Landownership Restrictions in Corporate Farming Law States: A Constitutional and Policy View From Iowa (Wilson, 2013)
Anti-Corporate Farming Laws and Industry Structure: The Case of Cattle Feeding (Schroeter, Azzam, and Aiken, 2006)
Should Corporate Farming be Limited in the United States?: An Economic Perspective (Wittmaack, 2006)
Buying the Farm: The Eighth Circuit Declares South Dakota’s Anti-Corporate Farming Amendment Violates the Dormant Commerce Clause (Chostner, 2004)
Agricultural Industrialization, Anticorporate Farming Laws, and Rural Community Welfare (Lyson and Welsh, 2004)
Is There a Future for Legislative Involvement in Shaping the Structure of Agriculture? (McEowen, 2003)
Testing the Impact of Corporate Farming Restrictions on the Nebraska Hog Industry (Matthey and Royer, 2001)
On the Effectiveness of State Anti-Corporate Farming Laws in the United States (Walsh et al., 2001)
Anti-Corporate, Agricultural Cooperatives and The Family Farm (Harbur, 1999)
Reorganizing U.S. Agriculture The Rise of Industrial Agriculture and Direct Marketing (Welsh, 1997)

Additional Resources

Foreign Ownership of Ag Land: Federal & State Legislative Update (NALC webinar)
Foreign Ownership of Ag Land: Legal Background and Update (NALC webinar)
Minnesota Corporate Farming Law: Fact Sheet (Minnesota House Research Dept.)
Minnesota’s Corporate Farm Report (Minn. Dept. of Agriculture)
Kansas Corporate Farming Law: Fact Sheet (Kansas Legislative Research Dept.)
North Dakota Corporate Farming Law: FAQs (North Dakota Secretary of State)
Land Ownership Laws Posts (Ag & Food Law Blog)
State by State Ag Facts (Farm Policy Facts)
Iowa’s Anti-Corporate Farming Laws: A General Overview (Iowa State Univ. Center for Agricultural Law & Taxation)
Does I-300 Work? (NebraskaStudies.org)