Foreign owners must report U.S. ag land holdings

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Julia A. Wickard, executive director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Indiana, reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. secretary of Agriculture.

“Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction,” said Wickard.

Foreign investors must file Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reports with the FSA county office that maintains reports for the county where the land is located.

“It is important to timely and accurately file to avoid a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land,” said Wickard.
For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts total 10 acres or more. Disclosure reports are also required when there are changes in land use. Foreign investors must also file a report when there is a change in the status of ownership.
Data gained from these disclosures is used to prepare an annual report to the president and Congress concerning the effect of such holdings upon family farms and rural communities in the U.S.

Wheat prices surge on concerns about winter crop

NEW YORK, N.Y. (AP) — Wheat prices were surging last week on questions about how much damage dry weather may have done to the winter wheat crop in parts of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Wheat for May delivery rose 3.5 percent Thursday to settle at $7.395 a bushel. A dry winter has left a good portion of the crop in all three states in poor to very poor condition.

U.S. wheat supplies remain tight. Global stockpiles are ample and a United Nations food agency is forecasting a 3.4 percent increase in world wheat production this year.

N.D. wind turbine accident pegged to bolt failure

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota regulator said bolt failures caused a wind turbine’s rotor and blades to fall from a tower north of Rugby.

North Dakota Public Service Commission utility analyst Jerry Lein said six other wind turbines have been shut down so bolts can be replaced. The wind farm has 71 towers. It was dedicated last October. The project is capable of generating 149 megawatts of electricity.

The commission on Thursday said it would ask for a meeting with the wind project’s developers to hear their explanation of what happened. Lein said the bolts attach the rotor and blades to a shaft that transfers power to an electric generator. The accident happened March 14.

The wind turbine was made by Suzlon Wind Energy Corp. Iberdrola Renewables, Inc. owns the project.

6 to change pleas in alleged Ohio drug operation
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A federal court document says a man accused of heading a marijuana growing operation in rural eastern Ohio intends to change his not guilty plea, a possible indication he has reached a plea deal with the government.

Authorities have said Hugo Ayala of Columbus and 10 other Mexican nationals were arrested following the September seizure of thousands of marijuana plants at a farm in Muskingum County. All were charged with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and have been detained since their arrests.

Lawyers for some of the men have said they were day laborers duped into working at the farm and knew nothing about the alleged drug operation. A notice filed March 22 in U.S. District Court in Dayton says Ayala faces an April 14 hearing to change his plea. His lawyer said he cannot comment on plea negotiations.

Change of plea hearings have also been scheduled over the past week for five other defendants.

Lawsuit against herbicide maker languishes

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — It’s been seven years since 13 southern Illinois water districts sued the makers of a farm herbicide, yet the case languishes in Madison County Circuit Court.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Judge Bill Mudge is the seventh to preside over the case. The Holiday Shores Sanitary District was one of the water districts suing Syngenta, maker of atrazine. The herbicide is used on corn and grain grown in the United States and allegedly costs water districts millions of dollars for its removal from drinking water.

Attorney Steve Tillery said the districts want Syngenta to help pay for filtration, estimated at about $400 million a year. Tillery accuses Syngenta of defying an order to produce documents. But Syngenta attorney Kurtis Reeg said the company has produced four million pages of documents.