PARIS — The executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in Oxford/Androscoggin/Sagadahoc County, CED Marcia Hall, reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

“Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10 years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction,” Hall said.

Foreign investors must file Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act reports with the FSA county office that maintains reports for the county where the land is located.

“Failure to file a report, filing a late report or filing an inaccurate report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land,” Hall said.

For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts total 10 acres or more.

For more information regarding AFIDA and FSA programs, contact the Oxford/Androscoggin/Sagadahoc County FSA office at 207-743-5789, ext. 2 (Oxford) or 207-753-9400, ext. 2 (Lewiston) or visit the USDA website at http://www.usda.gov.

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