Farmland Security Act of 2025

This bill significantly strengthens the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA) by enhancing penalties and oversight mechanisms for foreign ownership of agricultural land. It removes the existing limitation on the amount of civil penalties for disclosure violations, allowing for more stringent enforcement. A key provision introduces a specific penalty for foreign-owned shell corporations that fail to comply with disclosure requirements. These entities, defined as having no or nominal operations, would face a civil penalty equal to 100 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land interest involved in the violation, though this penalty can be avoided if the shell corporation remedies the defective filing within 60 days of notice. Additionally, the bill mandates new investigative actions, including an annual compliance audit of at least 10 percent of submitted reports to ensure accuracy. It also requires annual training for State and county-level personnel to identify agricultural land with missing foreign investment reports. Finally, the legislation authorizes $2,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2025 through 2030 and requires annual reports to Congress on foreign agricultural leasing, shell corporation trends, and foreign participation in U.S. agricultural economic activity.