When we think of the open spaces out in what’s derisively known as “flyover country,” we think of land that’s used for farming, ranching, mining, and timber. We think of millions upon millions of bountiful acres that keep our bellies full, our lights on, and our industries producing.

While Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates is our nation’s largest farmland owner, his portfolio of 269,000 agricultural acres pales in comparison to the acreage — generally in vast holdings of ranch land — owned by various individuals and families. You may recognize some of the names among the top 10: CNN founder Ted Turner, Subway cofounder Peter Buck, and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Even the family heirs controlling the venerable King Ranch make the list with more than 900,000 acres owned.

But there are other entities attempting to muscle their way onto this list — Red Chinese entities.

It hasn’t drawn as many headlines as the controversy over the Confucius Institutes we talked about a few years back, or the more recent flight of the red zeppelin, but there’s a growing concern about Chinese ownership of our domestic land — particularly the soil on which we’re growing our food.

The ChiComs have been on a global land-buying spree, and our farms are no exception. The amount of American land owned by Chinese interests has increased by more than fivefold in the last decade, with that property often strategically purchased near sensitive military or civilian institutions. That buying spree is even more pronounced in other areas of the world, leading South Dakota Republican Congressman Dusty Johnson to observe, “When they own that African farmland, when they own that Southeast Asian farmland, they gain more control over the whole global food supply.”

At this point, America can still pretty much feed herself, but a portion of our agricultural exports are now competing with Chinese-owned farms in other parts of the world. The issue is being addressed, however, and it’s a two-pronged approach. States worried about the encroachment of foreign interests on our farmland have been willing to place restrictions on its purchase, with the latest of several examples being a state house bill called the North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection Act.

“Our state’s agricultural land is one of our most important assets and it is common sense that we protect it from foreign governments that do not have America’s best interests in mind,” said State Representative Jennifer Balkcom, the bill’s sponsor. If adopted, North Carolina would join a list of 18 states with some form of regulation on foreign ownership of property.

Good for those 18. What’s keeping the other 32?

Meanwhile, Congress is itself trying to get into the act with a series of competing proposals. And while Johnson cautioned that the Biden administration “is not engaging with us in Congress as much as I think some people would hope,” the bills are proceeding in a hearteningly bipartisan fashion. One key change would be the addition of the secretary of agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews the potential foreign acquisition of land and businesses.

Two of America’s biggest assets are its landmass and its attractiveness to foreign investment. Sometimes, though, that investment involves our land, and we as a sovereign nation should be able to dictate whether such purchases are in our best interests or not.

Recent events — such as the spy balloon flyover and the opening of clandestine police stations in our cities — strongly suggest that the Red Chinese might not have our own best interests at heart.