Although foreign investors own a fraction of U.S. farmland – about 3.4% – Michigan recently saw a jump in foreign-held acreage.
The number of foreign-owned acres went from 5.8% to 8.6% of all agricultural land two years ago, the latest federal data shows, putting Michigan among the top states for increases. Colorado had an increase of 557,000 acres, Alabama with 514,000 acres and Michigan recorded 461,000 acres.
“These increases mostly reflect large purchases of forest land in Alabama and Michigan while increases in Colorado are mostly cropland and pasture,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its annual report on the foreign holdings of farmland, which includes cropland, pastures and forests.
The following map shows which Michigan counties have the most foreign-owned agricultural acres and the top countries of foreign investors.
Despite a steady climb since 2017, foreign ownership remains a sliver of all U.S. agricultural land with the largest acreages in Maine, Colorado, Alabama and Michigan. Nearly half of the foreign-owned agricultural acres are forestland and a growing number of leased acres are being used for wind farms.
Related: Upper Peninsula forestland increasingly bought by foreign landowners
In Michigan, the bulk of the investment is in the Upper Peninsula where 90% of all foreign-owned acres are located. Keweenaw County ranks the highest with 370,345 acres followed by nine other Upper Peninsula counties. More than 96% of the foreign-owned acres in the Upper Peninsula are forestland.
This database shows the number of Michigan’s foreign-owned acres by country:
Bill Knudson, an economist from Michigan State University, says the “biggest misconception” is the scale of foreign investment in agricultural land. Only about 3.4% of all American farmland acres are owned by foreign entities with Canadian investors owning the largest stake of 14 million acres.
“There’s a lot less foreign ownership than people think there is,” Knudson said.
Of all foreign-held agricultural land in Michigan, Dutch investors own 24%, Canadian investors own roughly 20% and “all others” own about half.
It can be tricky pinpointing who exactly the foreign landowners are because the latest federal data is three years old. Additionally, many of the listed owners are LLCs that don’t always reveal the parent company.
In the Upper Peninsula, one of the major foreign landowners is a timber investment firm called GMO Threshold Timber Michigan LLC. The company, which has ties to the Netherlands, held 433,212 acres across the Upper Peninsula per the latest detailed ownership report in 2021. Another is Great Lakes Forests LLC 1 and Great Lakes Forests Inc. 2, both incorporated by a Boston law firm in 2016, which own 361,349 acres. Their filings with the USDA name Canada and the United Kingdom.
Related: Guided hikes in Keweenaw Heartlands to highlight links to flagship preserves
Another misconception about farmland: Chinese investment.
Less than 1% of all foreign-owned agricultural acres are tied to Chinese investors, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite that, some lawmakers have raised Chinese farmland ownership as a national security concern with 33 states reportedly introducing bills last year to restrict it.
In Michigan, the USDA report shows zero farmland acres are tied to China.
Knudson says U.S. farmland attracts foreign buyers because it’s a good investment.
Farmland real estate values have steadily climbed over the years, most recently going up 7.4% from 2022 to 2023 following a 12% jump the year prior. In Michigan, farm real estate went up 9.4% from 2022 – averaging $6,400 – and 11.3% a year before that.
“It’s considered a pretty safe investment,” Knudson said.