Jim Baird: “When we talk about land for farmers and ranchers, we are really talking about that top eight inches of soil, which for…”

“When we talk about land for farmers and ranchers, we are really talking about that top eight inches of soil, which for some of you that may not recognize, that we consider that a living, breathing organism because of the organisms there and the complex chemistry that takes place, the nutrient exchange that grow the plants that rise above the surface. I compliment our farmers and ranchers. We have spent a great deal of time and money and effort for conservation programs to protect that top eight inches of soil. When we talk about land, we are also referring to a very precious resource. Since we have invested so much time and effort to make sure that we preserve that land, we are not interested in letting our adversaries have access to that. In that vein, in Indiana, foreign investors own and lease about 400,000 acres of agricultural land. When I talk about agricultural land, I am talking about the land that either produces crops, forestry, pasture forages, and that sort of thing. Some of them do not pose a real threat; however, foreign adversaries, including Communist China, are buying up farmland.…”