The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) is a federal law requiring foreign individuals and entities to report their U.S. agricultural land holdings to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to maintain transparency and monitor foreign investment in American farmland.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides mortgage loans to rural property owners, including farmers and service providers to farmers and ranchers. These loans are typically issued at below-market interest rates and require borrowers to purchase stock in their local land bank association for additional security.
Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) was a former agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administered assistance programs for the purchasers of homes and farms in small towns and rural areas. In 1994, the USDA reorganized and transferred the functions of the FmHA to the Farm Service Agency.
The Soil Bank is a land management program in which farmers are paid to hold agricultural land out of production to stabilize commodity prices and promote soil conservation. Subsidies for this program are usually provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
