P.M. BRIEFING : Foreign-Owned Farmland in U.S. Up

Foreign ownership of agricultural land in the United States rose to 12.5 million acres at the end of last year, an increase of 99,100 acres from the prior year, the U.S. Agriculture Department said today.

Despite the rise, foreign ownership remained at slightly less than 1% of the total privately owned agricultural land in the United States, it said.

The department said forest land accounted for 48% of all foreign-owned acreage, cropland 17%, pasture and other agricultural land 30%, and non-agricultural land 5%. Corporations owned 80% of the foreign-held acreage, partnerships 11% and individuals 7%.

Citizens or corporations from Britain, Canada, France, West Germany, the Netherlands Antilles, the Netherlands and Switzerland own 74% of the foreign-held acreage. Japanese citizens own 2% of the total, the department said.