*This report was replaced in its entirety by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on June 27, 2023.

Chapters 765 and 796 of the 2023 Acts of Assembly established the Foreign Entities and Property Ownership Law (Va. Code § 55.1-507 et seq.) (Law), which, in part, requires the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), on or before July 1 of each year, to publish a report on certain reporting requirements on VDACS’s website and to deliver copies of such report to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

Based on the reports submitted to VDACS pursuant to the federal Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, 7 U.S.C. § 3501 et seq., and other information VDACS, at its discretion, deems appropriate, VDACS is required to compile an annual report in consultation with the appropriate state agencies and boards for each calendar year containing all of the following, if available:

1. The total amount of agricultural land that is under foreign ownership;

2. The percentage change in foreign ownership of agricultural land in the Commonwealth for each year over the prior 10 years;

3. The purpose for which foreign-owned agricultural land in the Commonwealth is being used currently. To the extent such information is available, the Department shall also include any significant recent changes or trends in the uses of foreign-owned agricultural land in the Commonwealth;

4. With the assistance of relevant state agencies, information regarding the extent of, and any recent changes in, foreign ownership of energy production, storage, or distribution facilities in the Commonwealth to the extent such information is available; and

5. Any legislative, regulatory, or administrative policy changes the Department recommends in light of the information in this report.

Virginia has 560 parcels in foreign ownership as of December 31, 2021, in 81 unique localities. Forty-five different countries are identified as the nationality of the foreign interest with the highest concentration being from Canada (57), France (95), Germany (83), and the United Kingdom (62).

VDACS is not aware of any information regarding the extent of and any recent changes in foreign ownership of energy production, storage, or distribution facilities in the Commonwealth.

VDACS does not recommend any legislative, regulatory, or administrative policy changes in light of the information in this report.