Meet the #1 Largest Landowner in All of Louisiana

Although Louisiana is the 31^st largest state by total area (including water), it only ranks as the 33rd largest by land area. Louisiana comprises 52,378.13 square miles of lowlands, hills, and marshes. Despite 17.5 percent of the state being covered with water, many entities have invested in land ownership, including the largest landowner in Louisiana.

Who Is the Largest Landowner in Louisiana?

Surprisingly, foreign entities own over 1.4 million acres of Louisiana’s landscape. According to a 2021 USDA report, some top owners include Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The amount of acreage each country owns is as follows:

• Canada: 410,988 acres
• Netherlands: 307,279 acres
• United Kingdom: 123,598 acres
• Italy: 32,973 acres
• Germany: 9,828 acres
• Others: 556,935 acres

That’s a total of 1,441,600 acres of agricultural land that foreign investors own, out of the 27,879,680 total acres available in Louisiana. That’s around five percent of the land owned by foreign landowners.

In Which Parish Do Foreign Investors Own the Most Amount of Land?

While 48 of the states in the U.S. are divided into counties, Louisiana is divided into parishes. This is because when the state was under French and Spanish rule, Louisiana was Roman Catholic. So, the local boundaries within Louisiana coincided with church parishes. In 1807, the territorial legislature officially adopted the term “parish” for its 64 local regions, and the term has survived even to this day.

The Vernon Parish has the most foreign-held agricultural lands. Canada holds 85,983 acres in Vernon Parish, with other foreign landowners comprising 98,784 acres. That’s a total of 184,767 acres that are foreign-held in Vernon Parish.

Other parishes with large holdings include La Salle Parish (165,103 acres total) and Beauregard Parish (132,284 acres total).

What Kind of Land Do They Own?

Of the 1,441,600 foreign-held acres, about 139,314 acres are cropland, which makes up almost 10 percent of the total. Also, 39,589 acres are pastureland, which is about three percent of all foreign-owned land in Louisiana. About 83 percent of the land foreign entities hold is in forestry, which is 1,201,420 acres. Other agricultural holdings are 11,005 acres, and non-agricultural holdings are 50,273 acres.

Who Owns the Most?

Canada owns most of the foreign-owned land in Louisiana, mainly through timber companies. Canadian companies like Teal Jones, Telko, and Interfor are investing in Louisiana’s timber industry. Forests are a valuable investment as forests grow faster in the South, such as in states like Louisiana, rather than in northern countries like Canada. Also, companies are optimistic about the growth of home building, which is one of the top markets for the timber industry. In addition, there is a market for wood pellets, which are used for residential heating and large commercial boilers.

Foreign Holdings Across the United States

Of all the land in the United States, about 3.1 percent of all privately held agricultural land is held by foreign entities. That is about 1.8 percent of all total land in the United States, amounting to 40 million acres, according to the USDA report in 2021.

How Much Does the Federal Government Own?

The second largest landowner in Louisiana is the United States Federal Government. With the national parks, national wildlife refuges, and protected forests, this should not be a shock. Owning about 1,330,429 acres, the federal government owns 4.61 percent of land in Louisiana. As far as federal land ownership goes, Louisiana ranks as the 23rd in the nation.

Of the 1,330,429 acres, the U.S. Forest Service manages 604,373 acres, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains 564,117 acres, the U.S. Department of Defense has 127,934 acres, the U.S. National Park Service controls 17,531 acres, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management manages 16,474 acres.

Overall, the total land area of the United States is 2.27 billion acres, of which the federal government owns about 640 million acres. That’s about 28 percent of the total land, making the federal government the largest landowner in many other states.

Besides foreign entities and the federal government, the rest of the top six landowners are names that may be familiar, such as the Martin family (owners of the Roy O. Martin Lumber Company) or Bill and Melinda Gates (Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft).

Investing in Land in Louisiana

Louisiana has exceptional farmland because of the bayous and riverbeds flooding and enriching the soil. Many diverse crops, such as cotton, soybeans, rice, and corn, excel in the state. And, if landowners lease the land, it is another way to generate income. Owning land in Louisiana requires little to no maintenance, and the land keeps appreciating. Add the fact that Louisiana has some of the lowest property taxes, and land ownership in Louisiana becomes quite appealing.