b'In our eyes, Northrup King gives local farmers new crop vari-eties based on the local soils that our farmers use, he explains. What do we do if that goes away? Look to trials in other states, with different soil profiles? You want yield trial results and varie-ties that are bred and tested as close to your farming operation as you can get and this research farm is right in the heart of theWe work with these people. They are our friends.Mid-South Delta region. Another part of it is jobs. All the employ- A lot of local people cut their teeth in the agriculture ees there are Americans. Will they lose their jobs?So, what is fueling all the fear and the increasing regulationsindustry at this research station.about foreign ownership? Its not agriculture. Its not the seed Marty Eatonindustry. Its ultimately tensions between the United States and China. In addition to increasing political tensions between the two superpowers, there have been recent and very publicized concerns about Chinese spying and security breaches. In 2021, a Chinese company purchased land near a North Dakota Air Force base, and theres the recent Chinese spy bal-loon that traversed the country. Lawmakers and U.S. citizens alike have sounded alarms. The North Dakota land purchase raised fears that China may be trying to take little bits of control in the United States by having Chinese companies acquire U.S.Foreign Land Ownership in the United Statesassets. Lawmakers are doing a balancing act of trying to quell fear and take actions to protect the country from perceivedChina threats. In doing so, they may be tossing the diamond out380Kwith the dirt in scenarios like the one playing out in Arkansas. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the total number of U.S. agricultural acres was just fewer than 894 mil-lion acres. Chinese companies currently own less than 400,000 acres in the U.S., or less than 0.04% of total land. Other foreignGermanycountries own larger pieces of the pie. Canada owns 12.8 million2.3 millionacres; the Netherlands owns 4.9 million acres. Other countries such as Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany all own more than China.ItalyAs for Syngenta specifically, Wolfe says the company cur- 2.7 millionrently owns only 1,500 total acres in the United States. Syngentas agricultural land including the 160 acres in Craighead County, is used for research, development, regulatory trials, and production to meet the needs of American farmersCanadaand to drive competition and innovation within the U.S. agricul- Netherlands12.8 milliontural market, he says. In fact, in many instances, Syngenta is4.9 millionrequired by law to develop and test products it sells in the U.S. domestically on U.S. soil.Following an internal review, Syngenta updated its Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure paperwork reflecting the change in its ultimate ownership and filed a copy with the State of Arkansas. Our site has been in existence for 35 years and our people there have faithfully served American farmers all that time, Wolfe says. We intend to do all we can to help enable these Americans to continue serving American farmers.SWDECEMBER 2023SEEDWORLD.COM /23'