BrownfieldAgNews reports:
Missouri Governor Mike Parson has signed an executive order to ban China and other foreign adversaries from owning farmland in the state within 10 miles of critical military facilities.
Parson says this is a placeholder in case the state legislature can’t agree on updated foreign ag land policies and its as far as executive authority can go under current state law.
“If I had the authority, we wouldn’t just be talking about banning farmland, but all commercial properties by foreign adversaries regardless of rural or urban.”
He says other proposals on foreign ag land in the state do more harm than good.
“Banning our adversaries, yes, but if we start banning every purchase of farmland by a foreign individual or business, where does this end?”
Parson says the Missouri Agriculture Department will have greater oversight over foreign ag land purchases under this new order and any purchase of ag land must be examined and approved by the department.
“We’re including more than $200,000 and two additional full time positions in our upcoming budget recommendations for MDA to the General Assembly.”
He says security threats are different now than they were previously. This executive order is going into effect ahead of the Missouri State Legislative Session, which begins Wednesday.
