To the Editor:

Who will own America’s farmland when the crystal ball drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve of 2099? 

Will the grandchildren of today’s farming families be independent operators farming their own land or will they be employees of foreign or out-of-state corporations?

 This is an important question because these multi-national corporations have taught us that they have no allegiance to nation or flag but are loyal only to their stockholders and the bottom line. 

 An excellent example of this is the 2013 purchase of Virginia based Smithfield Foods by China based Shuanghui International for $4.7 billion. At the time of this acquisition/merger, Shuanghui International which is now called WH Group Limited, was the largest pork producer and processor in China and Smithfield Foods was a major pork producer and the largest pork processor in the U.S. 

When the Smithfield-Shuanghui deal was negotiated in 2013, Missouri had a law that prevented foreign ownership of Missouri farmland. Because Smithfield Foods had purchased Premium Standard Farms of Princeton, MO in 2007, Missouri farmland was part of deal. This problem was quickly resolved when Missouri’s General Assembly amended the law to allow one percent of Missouri’s farmland (about 289,000 acres) to be owned by foreign interests. WH Group Limited (Shuanghui) now owns over 40,000 acres in Missouri. 

In 2015, a loophole was added to this statute which makes it virtually impossible to track how much Missouri farmland is under foreign corporate control. This is unacceptable and dangerous. 

Representative Doug Beck (D-St. Louis) has offered House Bill 1492 which would stop foreign ownership of Missouri farmland in its tracks and is an important step in protecting our food security and national security.

I encourage everyone to contact their state representative and state senator and tell them to support House Bill 1492.

Joe Hardy

Fayette, Mo.