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Kristi Noem Paints Grim Picture for the Nation's Future If China Owns American Land

Sarah Arnold
Sarah Arnold  |  March 06, 2024 6:00 PM

Republican Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) is warning of the dangerous outcome if China continues to buy land in the United States. 

This week, Noem signed the foreign-owner agriculture land bill into law that bars ownership of land in South Dakota by people, companies, and governments from six different countries, including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.  

The governor cautioned what could happen if American land ends up in the hands of foreign leadership, saying “Their goal is to dominate the world, and the way they do that is by taking out America.” 

The bill also bans foreign countries from leases and easements, except for agricultural research on land up to 320 acres, or contract livestock feeding “at an animal feeding operation, by a family farm unit, a family farm corporation, or an authorized farm corporation.”

China poses one of the most crucial, and national security risks to the U.S. Noem said that if the Communist country controls America’s food supply, then they can control the American people. 

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“South Dakota respects the Freedom to farm and ranch,” Noem said in an X post. “That Freedom should not extend to our enemies, like Communist China.”

According to federal data, foreign countries own approximately 380,000 acres of agricultural land holdings in South Dakota. However, the same data lists the foreign “percent of ownership” as zero for 266,000 acres, indicating they may be easements or leases. 

“As a lifelong farmer and rancher, I am particularly concerned about China infiltrating America’s food supply," Noem wrote in a letter to Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI). "Food security is a matter of national security – I know that you agree.”

“China has taken steps to infiltrate every facet of our way of life. They have taken over our supply chains for critical resources like prescription drugs, technology components, and industrial inputs that are crucial to the construction of our military weapons,” Noem’s letter continued.