Congress passed the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) in 1978 to better track ownership of U.S. crop, pasture and timber land. Under terms of the act, foreign interests are required to notify the U.S. Department of Agriculture whenever they buy or sell American agricultural land. That information is then used to make periodic reports to Congress and the President.

The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the AFIDA database, which has entries spanning from 1900 to 2016. Information compiled under AFIDA includes ownership and land-use details included in the FSA-153 form filed by owners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The data has 17 fields, including location and value of the land and type and usage of the land.

There are more than 24,900 records, dating to as far back as 1900. Since the law wasn't passed until 1978, it's unclear how complete and accurate records before that date are.

The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the AFIDA database, which has entries spanning from 1900 to 2016. Information compiled under AFIDA includes ownership and land-use details.