(The Center Square) – Hostile foreign governments, such as China or Russia, would be banned from purchasing farmland and property surrounding military installations in North Carolina, according to a new proposal in the state House of Representatives.
“As our state’s top two economic drivers, we must take a stand to protect our farmland and military bases from foreign threats,” said Rep. Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth. “This legislation is vital to safeguarding our national security and defending our most valuable resource.”
Agriculture is the state’s No. 1 industry, valued at $111.1 billion annually. The defense sector is valued at $66 billion annually.
N.C. Farmland and Military Protection Act, or House Bill 133, proclaims the purpose of ensuring “the state’s farmers are able to produce a safe, abundant, and affordable supply of food and fiber for the benefit of the people of this state and the United States and to protect our vital resources.”
The definition of adversarial foreign governments would align with designation by the U.S. Department of State. They would be prohibited from “purchasing, acquiring, leasing or holding any interest in agricultural land or land situated within a 75-mile radius of a military installation,” says a release from Rules Committee Chairman John Bell, R-Wayne.
China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela are noted in the release as countries so designated. The proposed law would apply to a business in which the respective governments have a controlling interest.
“Having grown up on a family farm, I know how important it is to preserve North Carolina’s farmland,” said Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, R-Henderson. “Our state’s agricultural land is one of our most important assets and it is common sense that we protect it from foreign enemies.”
Zenger, Bell, Balkcom and Rep. Neal Jackson, R-Moore, are the primary sponsors of the legislation.
Growth in agriculture and agri-business since 2022 is by $18 billion. About 42,500 farms are operated on 8.1 million acres.
North Carolina is No. 1 nationally each in all tobacco, flu-cured tobacco, sweet potatoes, and poultry and eggs. The state is No. 2 in Christmas tree sales, production of turkeys, and food-size trout sold. It is No. 3 in cucumbers and hogs, No. 4 in peanuts and broilers (chicken), and No. 5 in cotton.
North Carolina has the fourth largest active-duty military population.
The state’s six major military bases include the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, both in the southeastern part of the state; Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in eastern North Carolina; and U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River along the coast, not more than an hour’s drive from the more inland MCAS Cherry Point. There are also two U.S. Coast Guard bases along the northern coast at Elizabeth City; and the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point on the southern coast in Brunswick County.
