❓WHAT HAPPENED: Senior Trump administration officials unveiled a plan to protect U.S. farmland from foreign threats, including Chinese ownership and agroterrorism risks.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, and Chinese nationals linked to agroterrorism concerns.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Announcement made Tuesday during a press conference.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The farm’s produce is not just a commodity, it is a way of life that underpins America itself, and that’s exactly why it is under threat,” said Brooke Rollins.
🎯IMPACT: U.S. farmland security measures include canceling contracts with foreign entities and addressing agroterrorism vulnerabilities.
On Tuesday, high-ranking officials from the Trump administration unveiled a strategy to safeguard U.S. agricultural land from Chinese ownership and other risks to American farming resources.
“Every family, every home, every community depends upon what our farmers do, and they support and sustain us, not merely by keeping us materially fed, but by keeping us spiritually strong,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins during a press briefing.
“The farm’s produce is not just a commodity, it is a way of life that underpins America itself, and that’s exactly why it is under threat from criminals, from political adversaries, and from hostile regimes that understand our way of life as a profound and existential threat to themselves,” she further stated.
The initiative seeks to protect U.S. farmland from adversaries such as Communist China, strengthen the agricultural supply chain, and enhance the security of American agricultural research. Rollins disclosed that she had ended contracts or research collaborations involving 70 scientists from nations of concern, including China.
In June, two Chinese nationals in Michigan faced charges for attempting to illegally transport Fusarium graminearum, a fungus considered a potential agroterrorism weapon, into the U.S. The Justice Department indicated that researchers funded by federal grants employed these individuals.
Rollins has confirmed that her department terminated seven ongoing agreements with foreign entities deemed concerning.
This development follows a bipartisan effort last month, when Democratic Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) and Republican Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced legislation to enhance scrutiny of foreign purchases of U.S. farmland, particularly addressing concerns about Chinese ownership near critical military sites.
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