The Chronicles Of Grant County
Foreign Land Ownerships
Part Two
The United States Department of Agriculture issues reports on foreign land holdings in the United States of America. (The image of this report was provided courtesy of the USDA, December 31, 2022.)
The Federal government, through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), keeps track of ownership of land by foreign persons and entities in the United States.
Part One of this news series of The Chronicles Of Grant County detailed information about Catron and Hidalgo counties. Part Two of this news series focuses on foreign land holdings in Grant County.
As noted in Part One, while summary data was released by the USDA for Year 2022, according to the USDA, "the detailed data underlying the Year 2022 report have not yet been released."
Thus, The Chronicles Of Grant County is not able to report on the foreign land holdings in Grant County for Year 2022.
All information listed for Grant County is from the Report of Foreign Land Holdings for Year 2021. This is the most recent report with detailed data on this subject from the USDA as of December 31, 2021.
Within the four counties in southwest New Mexico, the largest number of acres owned by a foreign entity was listed as being owned by one company in Grant County.
The USDA reported that Chino Mines Co. owned 90,953 acres in Grant County and that this acreage was owned by a company from Japan. That the land was acquired by the Japanese company for $3,066,000 in 1981. The estimated value was listed at $9,851,000 as of December 31, 2021; debt attached to the property was listed at $183,000.
That information, though, may not be correct. The Chronicles Of Grant County asked the USDA if this listing was correct.
Rather than directly responding to the apparent mistake in the reports, the USDA indicated that "more information about data for specific operations is available via FOIA [Freedom Of Information Act] request..."
Instead of potentially incurring fees charged by the USDA to determine if this listing was correct, The Chronicles Of Grant County contacted the American company that was likely the actual owner of this "foreign land holding" in Grant County.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc., an American business with its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, confirmed that "Chino Mines is 100% owned by Freeport-McMoRan. It was part of the 2007 Freeport-McMoRan acquisition of Phelps Dodge Corporation. It appears that the USDA information does not accurately reflect current ownership of the mine."
[Background: The USDA has pages of regulations detailing costs for making a FOIA request. It could not be determined with certainty that the USDA would not charge The Chronicles Of Grant County for verification of the information included in reports issued by the USDA. One division of the USDA, the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center (FPAC), summarized the FOIA potential costs: "There is no initial fee required to submit a FOIA request, but the FPAC is authorized to charge fees to requesters in order to recover the direct costs of search, review, and duplication of requested records. If the total costs of supplying the requested information are less than $25, we will waive any applicable fees."]
Beyond this listing, the report from the USDA indicated that 16 other properties were owned by multiple foreign entities and one foreign individual in Grant County.
Two businesses from Panama were listed as owners of land in Grant County as of December 31, 2021. One of the companies owned 160 acres that was purchased for $250,000 in 1984. The other Panamanian company owned 40 acres that was purchased for $64,000 in 1984. The estimated values of the two parcels as of December 31, 2021, were listed as the same as the purchase price amounts.
Five corporations from Switzerland owned land in Grant County as of December 31, 2021. One Swiss company purchased 10 acres of land for $25,000 in 1987. A second Swiss business bought 10 acres for $22,000 in 1987. The third Swiss company purchased 160 acres for $140,000 in 1983; debt listed for the property was $109,000. The fourth business from Switzerland bought 10 acres in Grant County for $22,000 in 1987. A fifth Swiss company purchased 20 acres for $40,000 in 1986.
The estimated values listed for these properties held by corporations from Switzerland as of December 31, 2021, were the same as the acquisition prices for the land.
As of December 31, 2021, five pieces of property in Grant County were listed as being owned by companies from France; one additional property was listed as being owned by an individual from France. Three of the five corporate holdings were owned by the same company.
The French business with three separate holdings included properties with 159 acres, 360 acres, and 600 acres. These properties were purchased, respectively, for $45,000, $169,000, and $150,000; each of the three holdings were purchased in 1982. The estimated values for these properties were, as of December 31, 2021, $75,000, $169,000, and $281,000, respectively. Debts for the properties were listed as, respectively, $45,000, $108,000, and $150,000.
A second French company owned 160 acres in Grant County as of December 31, 2021. The land was purchased for $200,000 in 1986; debt was listed as $140,000. The third business from France was listed as owning 20 acres that were bought for $33,000 in 1986. The estimated values of these two properties as of December 31, 2021, were listed as the same as their purchase prices.
An individual from France owned 280 acres. The land was purchased for $294,000 in 1983. The USDA indicated that the estimated value of the property as of December 31, 2021 was the same as the purchase price. Debt attached to that parcel was listed at $147,000.
Two additional businesses were listed in this Report of Foreign Land Holdings for Year 2021, but these listings indicated that "No Foreign Investor Listed"; no specific foreign nation was listed for either property.
One company was listed as owning 250 acres; the land was purchased for $360,000 in 1983. Debt for the property was listed at $180,000. The second company was listed as the owner of 70 acres in Grant County. According to the USDA, the acreage was purchased for $100,000 in 1984; debt was listed at $50,000. Estimated property values for these two foreign holdings as of December 31, 2021, were the same as the acquisition prices.
One of the listings for foreign land holdings in Grant County was different from the rest. A company from the United Kingdom was listed as acquiring 741 acres of land in Grant County in 2019. The type of ownership listed for this property by the USDA was "Other." The definition of "Other" in this report included "long-term leaseholds." The estimated value of the holding was listed at $34,827 as of December 31, 2021.
Information on foreign land ownership in Luna County by foreign entities will be detailed in Part Three of this news series.
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