[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8531 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8531
To ban new corporate ownership of agricultural land, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 27, 2026
Ms. Tokuda (for herself, Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Thanedar) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ban new corporate ownership of agricultural land, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Farmland for Farmers Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) it is the longstanding policy of the United States to
foster and encourage the family farm system of agriculture in
the United States;
(2) the maintenance of the family farm system of
agriculture is essential to the social and economic wellbeing
and national security of the United States;
(3) agricultural land is--
(A) a critical and limited resource of the United
States that provides needed food and fiber for the
people of the United States and others throughout the
world; and
(B) a source of wealth, including generational
wealth, for the people of the United States;
(4) since the 2008 financial crisis, corporations and, in
particular, pension funds, have increasingly turned to farmland
investment;
(5) from 2005 to 2025--
(A) the number of institutionally-owned farm
properties rose more than three-fold; and
(B) the market value of that property increased
from less than $2,000,000,000 to more than
$16,000,000,000;
(6) large corporate investors that own farmland--
(A) are more focused on short-term profits than
long-term land conservation; and
(B) have less interest than independent family
farmers in ensuring that agricultural land is used in a
way that most benefits the local community;
(7) since 2005, farmland prices in the United States have
nearly doubled;
(8) higher farmland prices provide an advantage to well-
capitalized corporate interests who can often outbid
independent family farmers;
(9) continued expansion of ownership and control of
agricultural land by corporate owners, especially institutional
investors--
(A) threatens the future use of the agricultural
land for the benefit of the people of the United
States; and
(B) is detrimental to the welfare and national
security of the United States;
(10) the operational scope and economic impacts of
corporate ownership of agricultural land--
(A) is increasingly interstate; and
(B) directly affects the continued wellbeing and
security of millions of residents of rural communities;
and
(11) there is a national public interest in regulating
corporate ownership of agricultural land.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Actively engaged in farming.--
(A) In general.--The term ``actively engaged in
farming'', with respect to a natural person who is a
shareholder in an authorized legal entity, an officer,
a director, or an employee of an authorized legal
entity, a member or manager of an authorized legal
entity, a partner in an authorized legal entity, a
beneficiary or trustee of an authorized legal entity,
or any other individual, means--
(i) regularly and frequently making or
taking an important part in making management
decisions substantially contributing to or
affecting the operation of a farm or forest; or
(ii) performing physical work, which
significantly contributes to cultivation,
stewardship, crop or livestock production, or
food production.
(B) Exclusion.--The term ``actively engaged in
farming'' does not include solely providing capital.
(2) Agricultural land.--The term ``agricultural land''
means land located in a State that--
(A) is cropland, grassland, rangeland, pasture,
forestland or other agricultural land on which
agricultural or forest-related products or livestock
are produced; or
(B) if the land is idle as of the date of transfer
of an ownership interest in the land, was used within
the 10-year period preceding the date of that transfer
for production of agricultural or forest-related
products or livestock.
(3) Authorized farmer or rancher cooperative.--The term
``authorized farmer or rancher cooperative'' means a farmer-
controlled or rancher-controlled entity--
(A) with bylaws requiring 1 vote per member;
(B) from which benefits are derived and distributed
equitably by each of the farmer or rancher owners;
(C) the members of which are actively engaged in
farming; and
(D) that is not a subsidiary of, or owned in any
part by, a multilayer subsidiary entity.
(4) Authorized legal entity.--The term ``authorized legal
entity'' means a legal entity that meets each of the following
requirements:
(A) The legal entity is not a subsidiary of, or
owned in any part by, a multilayered subsidiary entity.
(B) The shareholders, partners, members, or
beneficial owners of the legal entity do not exceed 25.
(C) The shareholders, partners, members, or
beneficial owners of the legal entity are all natural
persons who are actively engaged in farming.
(5) Beneficial owner.--The term ``beneficial owner'', with
respect to a legal entity, means any person who, directly or
indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding,
relationship, or otherwise, has or shares--
(A) voting power, including the power to vote for,
or to direct the voting of, the legal entity; or
(B) investment power, including the power to
dispose, or to direct the disposition, of an interest
in the legal entity.
(6) Corporation.--The term ``corporation'' means--
(A) a domestic corporation organized pursuant to
the laws of a State; and
(B) a foreign corporation.
(7) Fiduciary capacity.--The term ``fiduciary capacity''
means an undertaking to act as executor, administrator,
personal representative, guardian, conservator, or receiver.
(8) Indirect.--The term ``indirect'' means to act, or
attempt to accomplish an act, through an interest in a business
association, through 1 or more affiliates or intermediaries, or
by any method other than a direct approach, including by any
circuitous or oblique method.
(9) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(10) Legal entity.--The term ``legal entity'' means any
corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership,
limited liability company, association, joint venture, public
corporation, cooperative, pension or investment fund, or any
other legal or commercial entity organized or created under the
laws of any State or country.
(11) Multilayer subsidiary entity.--The term ``multilayer
subsidiary entity'' means--
(A) a privately held or publicly traded legal
entity that exists within a hierarchy of legal entities
that includes 2 or more levels of subsidiary entities;
(B) a privately held or publicly traded legal
entity that has as its parent or subsidiary a
management or holding company; or
(C) a privately held or publicly traded legal
entity that engages in intramarket transfers using
special purpose vehicles.
(12) Natural person.--The term ``natural person'' means a
human being.
(13) Ownership interest.--
(A) In general.--The term ``ownership interest'',
with respect to agricultural land, means all interest
acquired, transferred, or held in the agricultural
land.
(B) Exclusions.--The term ``ownership interest'',
with respect to agricultural land, does not include--
(i) security interests;
(ii) contingent future interests;
(iii) noncontingent future interests that
do not become possessory on the termination of
the present possessory estate;
(iv) surface or subsurface easements and
rights-of-way used for a purpose unrelated to
agricultural production; and
(v) an interest solely in mineral rights.
(14) Pension or investment fund.--The term ``pension or
investment fund'' means--
(A) a pension or employee welfare benefit fund
(however organized);
(B) a mutual fund;
(C) a life insurance company separate account;
(D) a common trust of a bank or other trustee
established for the investment and reinvestment of
money contributed to the common trust;
(E) a real estate investment trust; and
(F) an investment company (as defined in section
3(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C.
80a-3(a))).
(15) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(16) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) each of the 50 States;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(D) the United States Virgin Islands; and
(E) any territory or insular possession subject to
the jurisdiction of the United States.
(17) Trust.--
(A) In general.--The term ``trust'', with respect
to property, means a fiduciary relationship that
subjects the person by whom the property is held to
equitable duties to deal with the property for the
benefit of another person, which arises as a result of
a manifestation of an intention to create the fiduciary
relationship.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``trust'' includes a
legal entity holding property as trustee, agent, escrow
agent, attorney-in-fact, or in any similar capacity.
(C) Exclusions.--The term ``trust'' does not
include--
(i) a person acting in a fiduciary
capacity; or
(ii) a revocable trust.
(18) Unauthorized legal entity.--The term ``unauthorized
legal entity'' means a legal entity that is not an authorized
legal entity.
SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON AGRICULTURAL LAND HOLDINGS AND EXCEPTIONS.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), an
unauthorized legal entity shall not, directly or indirectly, acquire or
otherwise hold an ownership interest in any agricultural land.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to the
following:
(A) A bona fide encumbrance taken for purposes of
security.
(B) Agricultural land acquired for research or
experimental purposes.
(C) Agricultural land acquired and operated--
(i) by or for a public institution of
higher education for research, experimental,
demonstration, or test purposes; or
(ii) by or for a nonprofit corporation
organized specifically for research,
experimental, demonstration, or test purposes
in support of or in conjunction with an
institution of higher education.
(D) Agricultural land acquired by a legal entity
for immediate use in non-agricultural purposes, subject
to the condition that the land remain in use for non-
agricultural purposes.
(E) Agricultural land acquired by a legal entity by
process of law in the collection of debts, pursuant to
a contract for deed executed prior to the date of
enactment of this Act, or by any procedure for the
enforcement of a lien or claim on the agricultural
land, whether created by mortgage or otherwise, if all
agricultural land acquired is disposed of not later
than 5 years after the date on which the legal entity
acquires the title to the agricultural land.
(F) Agricultural land acquired or owned by a
municipal corporation.
(G) Agricultural land acquired or owned by a
nonprofit legal entity that--
(i) is organized under the laws of any
State as a nonprofit legal entity; and
(ii) qualifies as tax exempt under section
501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(H) Agricultural land that is acquired or owned by
a legal entity in a fiduciary capacity.
(I) Agricultural land that is acquired or owned by
a legal entity formed by owners of heirs' property (as
defined in section 761.2(b) of title 7, Code of Federal
Regulations (or a successor regulation)).
(J) Agricultural land that is acquired or owned by
an authorized farmer or rancher cooperative.
(K) Agricultural land owned by a legal entity on
the date of enactment of this Act, subject to the
condition that the legal entity owning the land on that
date of enactment continues to own the agricultural
land.
(2) Research or experimental purposes.--For purposes of
paragraph (1)(B), agricultural land is acquired for research or
experimental purposes if the agricultural land is used in
accordance with any of the following:
(A) Research and experimental activities.--
(i) In general.--Research and experimental
activities are carried out on the agricultural
land and commercial sales of products produced
from farming the agricultural land do not occur
or are incidental to those research or
experimental activities.
(ii) Incidental sales.--For purposes of
clause (i), commercial sales are sales that are
incidental to the research or experimental
purposes of the legal entity when the sales are
less than 25 percent of the gross sales of the
primary product of the research and
experimental activities carried out on the
agricultural land.
(B) Public seed varieties.--
(i) In general.--The agricultural land is
used for the primary purpose of testing,
developing, or producing public seed varieties
or plants for sale or resale to farmers as seed
stock and commercial sales of other products
produced from farming the agricultural land do
not occur or are incidental.
(ii) Incidental sales.--For purposes of
clause (i), commercial sales described in that
clause are incidental if the sales are less
than 25 percent of the gross sales of the
primary product of the testing, development, or
production of public seed varieties or plants
for sale or resale to farmers as seed stock
carried out on the agricultural land.
(3) Land acquired by law.--For purposes of paragraph
(1)(E)--
(A) the 5-year period described in that paragraph
shall be a covenant running with the title to the
agricultural land against any grantee, assignee, or
successor of the legal entity; and
(B) any agricultural land acquired shall not be
used for farming during the 5-year period described in
that paragraph, except under a lease to an authorized
legal entity in accordance with this Act.
SEC. 5. COMPLIANCE.
(a) Certifying Affidavit.--For any acquisition of an ownership
interest in agricultural land by a legal entity after the date of
enactment of this Act, at the time of acquisition, the legal entity
purchasing the agricultural land shall sign, and submit to the
Secretary, an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, certifying
compliance with this Act.
(b) Federal Tax Return Affidavit.--Beginning with the first taxable
year after the date of enactment of this Act, any legal entity with an
ownership interest in agricultural land