Nearly every major ag group opposed Governor Kristi Noem’s SB-185. It sought to establish a special committee, appointed by the governor, to review future purchases by foreign interests and let the governor block them. Crabtree said the Senate’s 31 Republicans agreed “wholeheartedly” with Noem’s anti-China vision but disagreed on the mechanism. “The biggest loophole we’ve got in the current foreign-ownership ag land ban is this entity loophole,” he said. “We need to keep South Dakota ag land for South Dakotans.

Source: New York Times February 26, 2023 21:35 UTC