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 regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land within the Commonwealth.

As of December 31, 2023, Virginia has a total land area of 25,340,160 acres, 18,789,439 of which are privately-held agricultural land. Of the 18,789,439 acres of privately-held agricultural land, 270,405 acres are foreign-held agricultural land consisting of 606 parcels in 82 unique localities.

These foreign holdings comprise a relatively small portion of total privately-held agricultural land in Virginia, approximately 1.44 percent in 2023. This is a 3,859 acre, or 1.4 percent, decrease in the total acreage of foreign-held agricultural land compared to December 21, 2022, when such holdings accounted for 274,264 acres. This is a notable shift in the trend of foreign ownership of agricultural land in Virginia, marking the first time in the past 10 years that the total acreage of foreign-held agricultural land declined. This contrasts sharply with the 7.77 percent increase observed in 2022, signaling a significant decrease in foreign- held agricultural land acquisitions in 2023.

Notably, dispositions of both agricultural and non-agricultural foreign-owned landholdings in Virginia in both 2023 (20,384 acres) and 2022 (18,976 acres) far outpaced those in any of the past 10 years. Before 2022, annual dispositions did not exceed 6,920 acres in any year and were often negligible or zero. The sharp increase in land dispositions during the past two years likely contributed to the reversal of the long-standing upward trend in foreignheld agricultural acreage. In 2023, forestland holdings expanded by 3,902 acres (2.2 percent), continuing a multi-year trend of strong foreign interest in timberland. Forestland remains the largest category of foreign-owned agricultural land in Virginia. Cropland increased by 1,627 acres (4 percent), while pasture holdings remained stable. Land classified as non-agricultural increased by 175 acres (3.5 percent), and acreage categorized as “Other Agriculture" decreased by 9,424 acres (36 percent), from 26,214 acres in 2022 to 16,790 acres in 2023.

The following are the acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land in Virginia owned by the identified countries of foreign investors in 2023: Canada (48,263), Germany (44,768), United Kingdom (38,283), Netherlands (9,523), Italy (2,253), and All Others (132,480). Of the 132,480 acres categorized under “All Others," 4,654 acres are landholdings owned by Chinese investors, representing approximately 3.5 percent of the agricultural and nonagricultural land attributed to this category and 1.7 percent of the total foreign owned agricultural and non-agricultural land in Virginia. 185,578 acres of land in Virginia owned by foreign investors are used as forestland, 42,318 as cropland, 25,718 as pasture, 16,790 as other agricultural land, and 5,164 as non-agricultural land.

VDACS is not aware of any information regarding the extent of or 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.