Farm security has become a focus of national security concerns due to foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land, particularly by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Experts warn that such ownership could be used for surveillance or sabotage purposes. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has previously expressed intentions to surpass the United States as a global superpower and has engaged in agricultural espionage.
A recent incident in June 2025 involved two Chinese-national researchers at the University of Michigan who were allegedly caught smuggling samples of a toxic fungus into the United States. Authorities believe this pathogen, which causes head blight—a disease affecting wheat, rice, and barley—could have destroyed up to 150 million acres of crops if released.
In 2022, a Chinese citizen admitted guilt in an economic espionage case involving stolen intellectual property related to data analytics designed to maximize farm yields. According to the Department of Justice, this posed “a danger to the U.S. economy” and threatened both innovation leadership and national security.
An earlier case saw another Chinese national imprisoned and ordered to forfeit farms purchased in Iowa and Illinois after participating in a conspiracy to steal proprietary corn seeds for transport back to China. These incidents highlight law enforcement’s efforts but also reveal limitations in federal tools available until recently for addressing ongoing threats from foreign adversaries.
“There are three primary ways in which the Chinese Communist Party has used gaps in regulations and enforcement to undermine our farm security.”
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