Foreign Ownership
Of Agricultural Land

Background

South Dakota has restricted foreign ownership of agricultural land since 1979. In 2024, the legislature updated the foreign ownership statues to provide additional clarity, enhance reporting requirements, and further restrict foreign ownership of agricultural land by prohibited entities.

Restrictions

As of July 1, 2024, SDCL 43-2A places the following restrictions on foreign ownership of agricultural land in South Dakota:

1. A prohibited entity (a foreign entity, foreign government, or foreign person from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russian, or Venezuela) may not own agricultural land in South Dakota.
2. A prohibited entity may not lease or hold an easement on agricultural land, unless:
   • The lease is exclusively for agricultural research purposes and encumbers no more than 320 acres; or
   • The lease is exclusively for contract feeding of livestock, at an animal feeding operation, by a family farm unit, family farm corporation, or an authorized farm corporation.
3. Excluding a prohibited entity, a foreign entity, foreign government, or foreign person may not own more than 160 acres of agricultural land, this limitation does not include:
   • Land acquired by devise or inheritance; or
   • Land held as security for indebtedness.
4. Excluding a prohibited entity, there are no restrictions on easements or the number of acres of agricultural land that a foreign entity, foreign government, or foreign person may lease.

These restrictions do not apply to a foreign entity, foreign government, or foreign person who's right to hold land is secured by treaty.

South Dakota Secretary of State

Under SDCL 59-11-24, each filing entity or qualified foreign entity, limited partnership, or limited liability company filing an annual report with the Office of the Secretary of State shall identify if the entity owns any agricultural land, and if so, whether the entity has any foreign beneficial owners.

If a foreign entity or an entity with foreign beneficial owners owns agricultural land, they must also report the following:

1. The legal description or common location of the agricultural land;
2. The total acreage of agricultural land held; and
3. The current use of the agricultural land.

County Register of Deeds

If you are a Country Register of Deeds wishing to voluntarily report alleged violations of SDCL 43-2A please submit relevant information to the address below:

South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Attention: Office of the Secretary
523 E Capitol Ave
Pierre, SD 57501

Reporting

Under SDCL 43-2A, any entity required to submit a report to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Agriculture Foreign Investment Act (AFIDA) of 1978, 7 U.S.C. § 3501 et seq. must submit a copy of the AFIDA report to the Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources within 90 days of the transaction.

Copies of AFIDA Reports should be submitted to: