Should foreign governments own CA farmland and water rights?
A Valley legislator has reworked a bill to stop foreign powers from owning ag land and having rights to water and food production. But concessions made to the bill could have little impact on what lawmakers hope to solve. Senate Bill 224 from state Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) will ban foreign governments and state-backed enterprises from owning agricultural land in California and create an inventory account of who has water rights on what land. … Saudi Arabian companies have leased land from the Arizona State Land Department to grow alfalfa and ship it back home to feed cattle. In 2016, drought-stricken Saudi Arabia banned alfalfa farming.
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