The House of Representatives select committee on China took a trip to Iowa to discuss local farmers’ concerns about agriculture theft. Showcasing that both the left and right wings have at least some common goals, Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) listened to concerns. They followed with a constructive plan: Toughen sanctions on the CCP and stop the theft of agriculture trade secrets and intellectual property, which accounts for hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation claims China is the “world’s principal infringer” on the steal.
With a backdrop of a Dysart, IA, farm supply business Youngblut Ag, complete with a brand-spanking new combine, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) was on hand, along with a fifth-generation seed specialist and livestock farmer, a sixth-generation family row farmer, and an agriculture educator. Not represented, however, were factory farms such as China-owned Smithfield Foods.
Iowa Nice Does Not Extend to Thieves
Gallagher started the discussion by reminding the US, “Our farms are more than just places to grow food. They are research laboratories and strategic national resources. We have to protect all our technology, whether it’s in a Silicon Valley research lab or an Iowa cornfield.” Hinson then turned up the heat before running a short video on an incident that occurred in 2011 in an Iowa cornfield. “I think we have to be very clear-eyed here. There is no such thing as a private company in China anymore.”
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The aforementioned incident, which took place during the Obama administration, involved an Asian man in business attire found digging up seedlings in a cornfield in Tama County. The FBI was notified, and the man, working to become the next hero of the CCP, was found with hundreds of packages of proprietary seeds. Mo Hailong was arrested with six accomplices. But only after they stole $30 million worth of US ag technology.
“You have something special here in Iowa, and people want to copy that,” said Krishnamoorthi. “But I don’t think they can ever copy you if we are vigilant about our secrets, our research. We can’t be anything but vigilant because we are in a global competition,” he said. “This is a competition that will determine our standard of living, our children’s standard of living, for generations.”
“One of every three rows of soybeans you saw on the drive out here goes to China,” warned panelist Suzanne Shirbroun. “While there is little doubt that China has targeted United States intellectual properties and unfair trade practices, let’s proceed cautiously.” Basically, there is no other market that can replace soybean exports to the communist nation. It’s a tricky navigation of agriculture and diplomatic waters.
China Wants Iowa Farmland
China, faced with a tremendous amount of food insecurity, isn’t just stealing information to duplicate back home. The Asian giant is also trying to cut out the middleman, the local American farmer. As Liberty Nation reported: “China is home to 21% of the world’s population, with only about 7% of productive farmland. From 2011 through 2021, China has gone from owning 69,000 acres to 384,000 acres of grazing land, crop fields, and livestock holdings.”
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The USDA monitors foreign investment in farmland under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act passed in 1978. The act requires all foreign holders of ag land to report what they own and where. But is it enforced? No – the USDA relies on volunteer disclosure. Investigate Midwest obtained the latest Farm Services Report through the Freedom of Information Act. Apparently, there are 3.1 million acres without a listed owner.
Watch the Backdoor
To be clear, as Shirbroun says, the US must stay vigilant but tread carefully. With bipartisan effort from those representing the heartland, perhaps that goal is achievable. Regardless, the productive meeting in Dysart should be repeated throughout the upper and lower chambers. The three representatives seem to know what’s at stake and how to diplomatically barricade the world’s breadbasket from the boogeyman. As Hinson stated:
“Our land is sacred. Feeding and fueling the world is ingrained in who we are. We cannot allow the [Chinese Communist Party] to continue stealing our intellectual property, buying up our farmland, and ripping off our farmers and rural manufacturers. We cannot sit idly by any longer. The status quo is too dangerous to maintain.”
