Foreign persons must report U.S. agricultural land holdings
Thursday, August 31, 2017 4:18 am SMITHVILLE -- The Executive Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in DeKalb/Cannon County, Donny Green, reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. "Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10 years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction," said Green. "Failure to file a report, filing a late report or filing an inaccurate report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land," said Green. For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts total 10 acres or more. Data gained from these disclosures is used to prepare an annual report to the President and Congress concerning the effect of such holdings upon family farms and rural communities in the United States. For more information regarding AFIDA and FSA programs, contact the DeKalb/Cannon County FSA office at 615-597-8225 or visit the USDA website at http://www.usda.gov.
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