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Federal lawmakers are demanding answers from Future Farmers of America (FFA) over its partnership with Chinese Communist Party-controlled agribusiness and its push for DEI programs, citing national security concerns and questions about its tax-exempt status.
The investigation was led by the House Ways and Means Committee and the Congressional FFA Caucus, who said the group’s ties to Syngenta raised concerns about foreign influence and whether FFA was operating in accordance with its stated mission as a tax-exempt nonprofit.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and Congressional FFA Caucus Co-Chair Tracey Mann sent a letter to National FFA CEO Scott Stump requesting documents and answers related to the partnership, Syngenta’s role in developing internal policies and the organization’s compliance with federal tax laws.
“Working with our nation’s foreign adversaries and prioritizing woke policy over your mission raises serious concerns about the state’s FFA’s compliance with requirements to maintain tax-exempt status,” the lawmakers wrote.
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Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., is demanding answers from the state FFA about its partnership with an agricultural business with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, citing national security tax status and foreign influence concerns. (Tom Williams)
In its letter, the committee highlighted FFA’s role in Educating future agricultural leadersnoting that the organization serves more than one million students through thousands of chapters across the country.
The lawmakers devoted a large portion of their letter to detailing Syngenta Group’s ownership structure and its ties to the Chinese government, which they said raised a red flag for a tax-exempt U.S. youth organization with ties to agriculture.
Since 2017, Syngenta has been wholly owned by China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), a Chinese state-owned enterprise that was later merged into Sinochem Holdings.
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The lawmakers devoted a large portion of their letter to outlining Syngenta’s relationship with the Chinese government. (Li He/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images)
Both ChemChina and Sinochem were designated as communist Chinese military companies during Trump’s first administration, a classification used to identify companies tied to Beijing’s military-civilian fusion strategy and limit their access to U.S. government funding.
Lawmakers noted that while those designations were revoked in 2021 under the Biden administration, Syngenta was later redesignated as a Chinese military company, highlighting ongoing concerns about its relationship with the Chinese government.
The letter also identifies actions taken by U.S. state and federal agencies Limit Chinese ownership and the impact on U.S. agriculture. These include efforts to force Syngenta subsidiaries to divest farmland and moves aimed at preventing the sale of U.S. agricultural land to Chinese entities on national security grounds.
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Lawmakers also expressed concerns about the impact China’s state-owned enterprises could have on future agricultural leadership. (Ken Ishii – Pool/Getty Images)
Against this backdrop, lawmakers said Syngenta’s access to FFA’s leadership, programs and students raises concerns about the influence Chinese state-owned enterprises could exert on future U.S. agricultural leaders.
“The Chinese Communist Party has a well-documented history of economic espionage to steal biotechnology and agriculture-related intellectual property, and the fact that National FFA is providing one of their state-owned companies with direct access to future leaders in American agriculture is alarming,” the letter states.
MPs also criticized FFA supports DEI initiativesargue that these programs have the potential to shift organizations away from agricultural education toward identity-based priorities that could divide students.
They questioned whether Syngenta’s role in DEI-related efforts gave the company undue influence over FFA’s strategic direction.
“The goal of the National FFA should be to bring student members together as a community rather than forcing them into specific categories,” the lawmakers wrote.
Smith and Mann said the investigation was part of a wider investigation Congressional Oversight of Tax-Exempt Organizations and the extent to which they are subject to foreign influence, especially as agriculture and food security are increasingly viewed as national security issues.
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House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith and Rep. Tracy Mann quoted U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlings as saying, “Farm security is national security.” (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Smith and Mann cited a statement by USDA Secretary Brooke Rawlings that “farm security is national security.”
Ultimately, the letter instructs National FFA to hand over documents and provide detailed answers about its relationship with Syngenta Group, including contractual and financial contributions, the role of Syngenta employees in leadership or advisory positions, and the company’s involvement in developing FFA’s diversity and strategic plans.
Smith said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that the committee is expanding its investigation to include FFA due to concerns about foreign influence and its impact on the organization’s mission.
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“The Ways and Means Committee is expanding its investigation into malign foreign influence in the U.S. duty-free industry to include FFA following reports that the organization maintains ties to entities controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and that ties appear to influence its decision-making,” Smith said. “FFA plays a vital role in educating the next generation of farmers, strengthening American agriculture, and safeguarding our nation’s food supply and national security. This important mission must not be compromised.”
Fox News Digital reached out to National FFA for comment.
