AFIDA-Distribution of the Report ‘Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land through December 31, 2011’
The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA) became effective on February 2, 1979. In particular, the regulations establish a system for the collection of information by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) pertaining to foreign investment in United States agricultural land. It requires any foreign person who:
– acquires or transfers any interest other than a security interest in agricultural land to submit a completed FSA-153 to the Secretary of Agriculture not later than 90 calendar days after the date of acquisition or transfer, or
– held any interest, other than a security interes, in agricultural land on February 1, 1979 to have submitted a report to the Secretary not later than August 1, 1979
The information required by the Secretary should be reported on form FSA-153 which can be downloaded at: http://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eForms/searchAction.do . You are encouraged to give this form to clients who are foreign persons owning, acquiring, or transferring agricultural land in the United States or its territories or possessions. Return the completed FSA-153 to the Connecticut FSA office in Tolland.
Any foreign person who holds, acquires, or transfers any interest in agricultural land, who the Secretary of Agriculture determines did not submit FSA-153, or who knowingly submitted a report that was incomplete, misleading, or false is subject to civil penalty of not more than 25 percent of the fair market value of the land on the date the penalty is assessed.
FSA-153 is analyzed by the United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service agency, to develop reports for the Secretary of Agriculture and the agriculture department in each state. Completed FSA-153’s and the analysis shall be available for public inspection.
Due to budget constraints, hard copies of this publication are no longer distributed; the report can be found electronically at the following website:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ecpa&topic=afa
If you have questions about the report or AFIDA please contact FSA at 860-871-4090.