US EditionDespite ethics agreement to sell, U.S. Treasury Secretary's family still appears to own North Dakota farmland
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee on May 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C., and called himself a "farmer."
- Bessent and his husband own millions of dollars in North Dakota farmland, which he was required by an ethics agreement to divest by the end of April 2025.
- The farmland is held through High Plains Acres LLP, a North Dakota landholding company owning property in five counties valued at over $18 million and generating between $100,001 and $1 million income.
- Bessent pledged in a January 9, 2025 ethics agreement to divest interests in 25 entities including High Plains Acres within 90 days after confirmation, which occurred January 27, but had not certified compliance as of May 15, 2025.
- The continued apparent ownership raises questions given U.S. Ethics laws prohibit officials from working on matters conflicting with their or their families' financial interests.
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Foreign-Owned Farmland Has Increased in Nearly Every State in the Past Decade
This story was originally published on Investigate Midwest.Nearly every state in the country has seen an increase in foreign interests owning farmland since 2014, according to USDA data.Foreign countries and interests own more than 45 million acres of farmland in the country, which accounts for just over 3% of the nation’s private farmland, but the number of agricultural acres owned by foreign interests increased by 67% from 2014 to 2023.The USD…
Despite ethics agreement to sell, U.S. Treasury Secretary's family still appears to own North Dakota farmland
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent committed to divesting 25 entities in which he or close family had invested. But one of the companies still owns around $18 million in North Dakota farmland.
·Fargo, United States
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