Mara Okafor
Tracks the money behind the dirt — foreign buyers, PE roll-ups, and the shell companies that hide them. Former property-records nerd, current FOIA obsessive.
Recent reporting
Trump Eyes Gutting Rules on Beef Processors
The administration is considering cutting safety and labor rules on meat processing plants. Critics warn this favors consolidation, not competition.
FTC Deere Settlement Renews Push for Federal Repair Rights
A ten-year FTC settlement opens dealer-grade repair resources to farmers and independent shops. Advocates say Congress should make those protections permanent.
Tariffs Aren't About Trade. They're About Crushing Small Farmers
New tariffs on farm equipment aren't protecting anyone—they're accelerating the machinery consolidation that's already locked farmers into John Deere's grip.
Big Food's Lawsuit Machine Blocks Health Protections
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Mars and others routinely sue governments to prevent public health regulations. A new investigation reveals the pattern.
Illinois Farmland Values Soften as Fall Auctions Begin
Analysis of 5,000 Illinois farm sales shows high-quality land values down 4% year-over-year. What it means for family farmers as fall market season sets the tone for 2027.
USDA rolls out support for small beef processors
New funding programs and size classifications give independent processors tools to compete as consolidation dominates the meatpacking corridor.
Tyson quietly cuts 3,000 head/day in Midwest beef corridor
Illinois facility shuts without warning, leaving cattle feeders scrambling as consolidation reaches a tipping point in feedlot country.
Tyson Shuts Down Illinois Plant, Consolidates Beef Operations
Meatpacking giant is eliminating 10,000 head of daily processing capacity and centralizing beef production, squeezing cattle feeders between plant closures and record prices.
Tyson doubles profits as beef prices hit $10.49—ranchers see none of it
Record meatpacker profits and soaring beef prices haven't reached family ranches. Consolidation means farmers have no leverage to claim their share.
Two companies own 70% of your corn. Your tax dollars paid for it.
Corporate patents on seeds are locking farmers out of choosing their crops—while taxpayer subsidies fund the monopoly that locks them out.
AI 'slop' and fossil fuel fear campaigns target rural solar
Foreign-based accounts pump false claims about solar into rural Facebook groups, blocking clean energy on farmland while fossil fuel jobs disappear.
Farmland values surge past $6,000 per acre nationwide
Cropland prices climbed $2,000 in six years as pasture values soar, raising questions about who can afford to farm and who's cashing out.
Foreign Farmland Ownership Thresholds Could Drop to 5%
USDA proposes sweeping changes to farmland disclosure rules, tightening oversight of foreign acquisition as 29 states pass their own restrictions.
John Deere's Right-to-Repair Settlement: A Win for Farmers
After an FTC antitrust lawsuit, John Deere must share repair tools and software with farmers for 10 years, ending decades of equipment monopoly control.
Poultry Farmers Lose Payment Protections in USDA Rollback
The USDA is rescinding rules that protected 20,000 contracted farmers from predatory payment practices in a $45 billion industry dominated by four companies.
Foreign Farmland Disclosure Gets Real: USDA Cuts Threshold to 10%
USDA proposes sweeping AFIDA rule overhaul, lowering foreign ownership reporting threshold from 50% to just 10% in historic shift on land control.
USDA Tightens Rules on Foreign Farmland Ownership
New disclosure regulations would lower thresholds and close loopholes in decades-old law tracking who controls American agricultural land.
Congress Takes Aim at Corporate Farmland Grabs
Farmland for Farmers Act seeks to ban corporate land ownership while 25 states lock out foreign investors—the latest salvo against agricultural consolidation.
FTC Forces Deere to Unlock 10-Year Right to Repair Win
Federal Trade Commission settles antitrust suit with John Deere, guaranteeing farmers access to repair codes, parts, and independent technicians through 2036.
The Deere Settlement Isn't the Finish Line — It's a 10-Year Clock
The FTC's landmark right-to-repair settlement with John Deere sounds like a win. But it expires in a decade, covers one manufacturer, and doesn't touch state law — which is why Minnesota farmers are already fighting the next battle.
Seed Patents Lock Out Farmers From Breeding Innovation
DOJ reveals that patented seeds and genetic monopolies restrict farmer breeding rights and block competition, paralleling the John Deere fight for equipment access.
John Deere loses right-to-repair fight
FTC forces Deere to hand over diagnostic tools and repair manuals for 10 years. A major win for farmers fighting equipment monopolies.
44 Million Acres: America's Quiet Consolidation Crisis
Nearly 15% of U.S. cropland will change hands by 2029. Farm Journal Intelligence data shows 58% of small farms face acquisition risk, threatening the viability of family agriculture.
FTC Wins Right-to-Repair Deal: Farmers Can Fix Their Own Deeres
After an 18-month antitrust fight, the FTC secured a landmark settlement requiring John Deere to open repair access to farmers and independent shops for a decade.
USDA Moves to Choke Off Foreign Farmland Grabs
USDA proposes sweeping new enforcement rules targeting foreign control of U.S. farmland, expanding oversight and creating steep penalties for foreign adversary entities.
After 18 Months, Deere Settles: Farmers Win Right to Repair
The FTC forced John Deere to share diagnostic software and repair manuals with farmers. A decade-long battle finally closes.
John Deere's FTC Loss is Farmers' Right-to-Repair Win
After a 18-month antitrust battle, the FTC just forced Deere to hand farmers the repair tools they've been locked out of. A decade of diagnostic access ahead.
Deere Settlement: A $99M Win for Farmer Repair Rights
John Deere agreed to give farmers access to diagnostic tools for a decade. What the settlement means for equipment independence and what's left to fight.
Meatpackers Pocketed $500M in Tax Breaks—Then Consolidated Anyway
States and cities spent half a billion to attract meat processing plants. Instead, just eight companies now dominate the industry, and rural plants keep closing.
Supreme Court Shields Pesticide Makers from State Warnings
A 7-2 ruling protects federal EPA authority over product labels, blocking states from requiring pesticide cancer warnings. Thousands of Roundup lawsuits hang in the balance.
Wall Street's Dirt Play: How Institutional Investors Beat Farmers to Farmland
Billionaires and mega-funds are buying prime Midwest cropland with cash, while family farmers bleed equity at $900-per-acre input costs and $4.30 corn.
44 Million Acres at Stake as Small Farms Face Consolidation Cliff
Nearly 15% of American cropland is projected to change hands in three years. Small farms are most vulnerable, with half already unprofitable.
USDA Proposes Tougher AFIDA Penalties for Foreign Adversary Filers
A proposed USDA rule would end agency discretion to reduce farmland disclosure penalties and create steeper tiers for foreign-adversary entities. Comment period closes August 10.
Schumer Pushes Bill to Break Up Meatpacking Monopoly
Sen. Schumer's Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act targets the four companies that control 85% of beef and lock farmers into bad prices.
Senate Farm Bill 2.0 Targets Foreign Farmland Disclosure
The 902-page Agricultural Act of 2026 would strengthen AFIDA reporting and bolster USDA's homeland security office — a long-sought upgrade to a 48-year-old law.
Disclosure Isn't Enough: The Push to Close the Farmland Loophole
Federal law requires foreign buyers to report ag land purchases — but doesn't block them. A wave of state bans tries to fill the gap, unevenly.
DOJ Opens Antitrust Probe of the Big Four Meatpackers
The Justice Department confirmed an antitrust probe of major beef processors in May, calling for whistleblowers as ranchers face persistent market consolidation.
AI Data Centers and Solar Farms Are Eating the Midwest's Best Land
As AI infrastructure investment surges, data centers and solar farms are competing with family farms for Midwest land — raising alarms from USDA to state legislatures.
Who Really Owns American Farmland? The Paper Trail Nobody Wants You to Follow
Foreign investors hold roughly 45 million acres of US farmland — and the federal database meant to track them is so broken even the GAO can't trust it.
The Feds Are Suing John Deere Over Your Right to Fix Your Own Tractor
The FTC and two states sued Deere over repair-restriction practices that force farmers to dealers. It's the biggest right-to-repair fight in ag — here's what's at stake.
Wall Street Discovered Dirt: How Private Equity Turned Farmland Into a Yield Play
Pension funds and PE firms now treat US farmland like a bond that grows corn. For young farmers trying to buy in, that math is a wall they can't climb.
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