Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced Jan. 2 that he has banned individuals and businesses from nations designated as foreign adversaries from purchasing agricultural land within a 10-mile radius of critical military facilities in the State of Missouri. Nations currently classified as foreign adversaries include China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
“With heightened concerns regarding ownership of Missouri farmland by foreign adversaries, especially China, we are signing this order to safeguard our military and intelligence assets, prevent security threats to our state, and give Missourians greater peace of mind,” Gov. Parson said. “When it comes to China and other foreign adversaries, we must take commonsense precautions that protect Missourians and our security resources.”
Executive Order 24-01 issued by Gov. Parson bans any citizen, resident, or business from a foreign adversary, outlined in 15 C.F.R § 7.4, from owning or acquiring Missouri agriculture land within 10 miles of critical military facilities.
For the purposes of this order, “critical military facilities” refers to all staffed military facilities in Missouri. The order does not affect existing landowners.
Currently, foreign agricultural land purchases are capped at 1% of the total agricultural land across the state, as outlined in state statute. Executive Order 24-01 creates more stringent requirements for these land purchases and requires approval from the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) prior to any foreign acquisitions of agricultural land. The order also requires disclosing certain information to MDA prior to any foreign entity acquiring Missouri agricultural land. Specifics can be found in the Executive Order.
These additional requirements will help inform MDA personnel as to whether an agriculture land purchase by a foreign alien or business should be approved or denied. Gov. Parson also plans to include funding in his upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 supplemental budget and his FY 2025 budget to ensure MDA has the necessary resources and staff to enforce these protections.
During a press conference, Gov. Parson made clear that his order does not impact Missouri’s valued economic partnerships with foreign allies, including Israel, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan, among many others that have a longstanding presence in Missouri and employ thousands of Missourians.
In the last five years alone, foreign investment in Missouri has totaled nearly $19 billion and directly supported close to 150,000 Missouri jobs.
“There are numerous Missouri employers from friendly nations that we have strong economic relationships with, and we must ensure we are not disrupting Missouri’s economy or Missourians’ lives and livelihoods. Commonsense decisions and a balanced approach must always win, and Missouri must remain open for business to our allies,” Gov. Parson said. “As such, we believe this order, with the authority we have, sufficiently protects Missouri’s security interests from potential bad actors while not punishing our allies for being good economic partners or upstanding individuals fleeing oppression and coming to our nation legally in search of a better life.”
