Missouri governor vetoes bills permitting foreign ownership of farmland
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed two bills that would have cleared the way for foreign ownership of farmland and potentially complicating the planned acquisition of Smithfield Foods by Chinese company Shuanghui International.
Nixon vetoes state Senate Bill 9, which contained a provision that would have struck down the existing ban on foreign ownership of sgricultural land, reports Reuters. The provision would have allowed non-U.S. businesses to own up to a total of 1 percent of Missouri’s agricultural land, or about 300,000 acres. The provision had been inserted as an amendment to the larger omnibus agriculture bill after it had already been rejected by a legislative committee and was opposed by leading agricultural groups, Nixon's office said in a statement.