The Trump administration has launched a National Farm Security Action Plan: What does it include?

The Trump administration announced a National Farm Security Action Plan on Tuesday. The plan is a joint effort by several federal agencies to protect American farmland, the food supply, and agricultural research from the influence and control of China and other adversarial foreign nations.

The plan includes a ban on the purchase of farmland by Chinese nationals and individuals from other countries deemed by the government to be threats to national security.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, along with other Cabinet officials — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Trade Advisor Peter Navarro — introduced the bill.

"American agriculture is not just about feeding our families, but about protecting our nation and confronting foreign adversaries who buy our farmland, steal our research and create dangerous vulnerabilities in the very systems that sustain us," Rollins said at the press conference he held from his department's headquarters.

A plan with legislative and executive actions at the federal and state levels

The collaboration among government entities, involving both legislative and executive actions at the federal and state levels, will strengthen U.S. agricultural research and protect it from malign foreign influence, intellectual property theft, and the growing threat of agro-terrorism, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters the day before.

At least 700 foreign nationals from "countries of concern," including China, will be swiftly removed from contracts and research agreements with theU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other regulatory actions will remove more than 550 foreign entities that create doubts and stress to the country's security, the conference was told.

The announcement follows the federal indictment of two Chinese researchers in June for attempting to smuggle in a dangerous crop-killing fungus, according to the FBI. It was revealed Tuesday that both detainees had direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The FBI has launched more than 100 investigations into biological smuggling in recent years, Attorney General Bondi told reporters. She assured that efforts will continue to arrest and prosecute anyone who poses a threat to the United States in this area.

Other national security measures

The Department of Agriculture and other agencies will not only prohibit the purchase of farmland by Chinese nationals, but will also "eliminate all agreements with persons and entities in countries of concern or other foreign adversaries," Rollins confirmed.

Other elements of the action plan include reforming the Foreign Agricultural Investment Disclosure Act to increase civil penalties for late or false filings to 25% of the land’s fair market value.

The USDA food stamp program will also be reviewed to ensure that transnational criminal gangs are not “stealing from the poor and U.S. taxpayers by cloning point-of-sale devices and stealing cards.”

In addition, the USDA will start compiling lists of supply chain items in the agriculture industry sourced from foreign adversaries and propose solutions to address potential risks.

The agriculture secretary also pledged to immediately prioritize "all USDA funding in the country for U.S.-made technology, research and innovation."

Present at the plan’s unveiling were Republican governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, and Bill Lee of Tennessee.