STATEHOUSE (March 14, 2024) – State Rep. Kendell Culp's (R-Rensselaer) legislation to protect Hoosier farmland and military bases from foreign adversaries is headed to the governor's desk for consideration as a new law.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 438,000 acres of Indiana farmland are owned by foreign entities, representing 2.4 percent of Hoosier agricultural land. With concerns about foreign land ownership growing across the country, Culp said he authored the bill to ensure Indiana protects not only the food supply chain but national security.
"Our foreign adversaries like China and Russia should not be able to buy up Hoosier land, which could compromise our ability to protect our food and national security," Culp said. "If signed into law, this legislation draws a line in the sand and stops this type of activity. We can't afford to let even a fraction more of our valuable farmland to be gobbled up."
Culp's legislation would ban foreign adversaries from owning, purchasing or leasing Hoosier farmland, and mineral, water or riparian rights. The U.S. Department of Commerce maintains a list of six adversarial countries including Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.
According to Culp, this bill would also protect military installations throughout the state by prohibiting foreign adversaries, apart from Cuba and Venezuela, from purchasing land within a 10-mile radius of such a facility.
To learn more about House Enrolled Act 1183 and other legislation considered for new laws by the governor, visit in.gov/gov/newsroom/2024-bill-watch.
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State Rep. Kendell Culp (R-Rensselaer) represents House District 16,
which includes portions of Jasper, Pulaski, Starke and White counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
