Today, the America First Governors’ Council expressed its strong support for President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ newly announced National Farm Security Action Plan. The initiative was described as a “decisive and long-overdue response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) coordinated threat to America’s farmland, food supply, and national sovereignty.”
Former Governor Bobby Jindal, Co-Chair of the America First Governors’ Council, stated: “For too long, foreign adversaries, most notably the CCP, have quietly exploited lax federal enforcement to buy American farmland, including land near key military installations. This plan ends that era of weakness and starts restoring control of our land to the American people.”
The governors highlighted concerning examples such as a Chinese food company’s attempted purchase of farmland just 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and over 130,000 acres near Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas by a former Chinese military official.
The National Farm Security Action Plan includes measures to strengthen enforcement under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, classify key agricultural inputs as critical to national security, enhance protections against biological threats like foreign animal diseases and invasive species, reevaluate USDA programs with an America First focus on U.S. farmers and rural communities, and improve coordination among the USDA, intelligence agencies, and state governments.
The governors concluded with a firm commitment: “We will not allow the CCP to gain a foothold in the American heartland. This is the golden era of American renewal, and it begins with reclaiming control over our farmland.”
Signatories include Former Gov. Phil Bryant (Mississippi), Former Gov. Bobby Jindal (Louisiana), Former Gov. Rick Perry (Texas), Gov. Mike Braun (Indiana), Gov. Bill Lee (Tennessee), Gov. Brad Little (Idaho), Gov. James Pillen (Nebraska), Gov. Kim Reynolds (Iowa), Gov. Larry Rhoden (South Dakota), Gov. Sarah Sanders (Arkansas), and Gov. Kevin Stitt (Oklahoma).