Foreign land investors beware of 'Uncle Sam'

The amount of rain received last week around the area has been reported at various levels, but no matter whose measurement you quote, it was plenty! I do know that when I was finishing up this article on Sunday afternoon (couldn't do much else), the US Geological Survey "realtime" readings for river levels showed the Marmaton River (at Marmaton) had crested late Saturday night at around 37 feet - 12 feet above the flood stage of 25 feet - after recording 12 inches of rain beginning Tuesday.

The record flood was 52.45 feet on Oct. 3, 1986. (Some of us will remember that day.) Not far behind is Sept. 14, 1998 when the Marmaton crest was recorded at 50.05 feet. Hopefully, the rain will slow down some so we will not witness a new record. The Little Osage River (at Fulton) crested mid-day Saturday at 32.5 feet - 10.5 feet over the flood stage of 22 feet. The record flood at this location was 35.21 feet also on Oct. 3, 1986.

The Marais des Cygnes River (at LaCygne) showed a depth right at 35 feet by Sunday afternoon - 10 feet above its 25 foot flood stage - with the predicted crest for Monday morning. The record flood there at the bridge west of town was the 36.19 feet measured on July 13, 1951. Monday's crest was predicted by the US Geological Survey estimates to be very near the 1951 record (visit their Web site at http//:waterdata.usgs.gov). However you flush it - that is a lot of water!

Back to the intended topic of today's column: foreign investors who buy, sell or hold a direct or indirect interest in agricultural lands in the United States (whether currently "irrigated" or "non-irrigated") are required under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act to report their holdings and transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

The Secretary of Agriculture has delegated the responsibility for collecting this information to the Farm Service Agency. Foreign investors buying or selling land must report such transaction within 90 days of the date of the sale.

Failure to file an accurate or timely report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land (which adds up fast).

The act requires reports to be filed by: 1) individuals who are not U.S. citizens or citizens of the Northern Mariana Islands or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; 2) individuals who are not lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence or who are not paroled into the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act; 3) any organization created under the laws of a foreign government or which has located its principal place of business outside the United States; 4) any U.S. organization in which a significant interest or substantial control is directly or indirectly held by foreign individuals, organizations, or governments; and 5) any foreign governments.

Farm Service Agency form FSA-153 is used to report land holdings and transactions. The completed form must be returned to the FSA county office where the land is located. Contact the FSA at your local USDA Service Center. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider.