Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) has announced a ban on agricultural land purchases within a 10-mile radius of critical military facilities in the State of Missouri by citizens and businesses from six nations designated as foreign adversaries.
Those nations currently classified as foreign adversaries include China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
Currently, foreign agricultural land purchases are capped at one percent of the total agricultural land across Missouri. The governor’s order 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. 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.
“With heightened concerns regarding ownership of Missouri farm land 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,” Parson said. “When it comes to China and other foreign adversaries, we must take commonsense precautions that protect Missourians and our security resources.”
Parson says that his order does not impact Missouri’s 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,” 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.”