A new U.S. Department of Agriculture report found that foreign investors own nearly 10% of Michigan’s farmland.

Foreign entities or U.S. companies with a “significant foreign interest” hold 1.9 million acres of agricultural land in the state, accounting for 8.8% of Michigan’s total farmland. That share ranks Michigan third-highest nationally for foreign-owned farmland, behind only Maine at 21.3% and Hawaii at 17.1%.

Overall, foreign-owned land of all types in Michigan totals 1.95 million acres – or 5.4% of all Michigan’s acreage.

Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has grown sharply in recent years, both nationally and in Michigan.

According to the USDA report, foreign holdings increased by an average of 600,000 acres per year from 2013 to 2017. Since 2017, that pace has accelerated to more than 2.4 million acres annually, with yearly increases ranging from 1.3 million to 3.4 million acres.

As of December 2024, most foreign-owned agricultural land in Michigan consisted of forest, followed by cropland and pasture.

Foreign ownership is concentrated in Michigan’s forests, making up 1,710,392 acres. The Upper Peninsula has been especially impacted by this.

A July report from Bridge Michigan found that the government of Singapore owns more than 5% of all land in the Upper Peninsula, making it the largest known foreign landowner in the state.

Singapore, however, was not individually listed in the USDA report. The agency named five countries with major holdings, grouping all other foreign owners into a single “other” category.

According to the report, the majority of foreign-owned Michigan land is held by countries in that other category – or 1 million acres. Of the countries listed:

— Netherlands owns 458,481 acres.

— Canada owns 358,489 acres.

— Italy owns 56,692 acres.

— Germany owns 27,141 acres.

— United Kingdom owns 20,210 acres.

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