The latest federal government figures put the proportion of foreign owned agricultural land in the Riverina at between 7.5 and 10 per cent.

The Australian Taxation Office refused to release the exact figure to The Daily Advertiser, citing "privacy" reasons.

Since late March, the threshold for a Foreign Investment Review Board investigation of a proposed sale has been reduced from $15 million for farms to zero dollars.

Wagga-based land valuer Chris Egan said the FIRB should continue to look at all sales despite the benefits of foreign investment.

"There's a positive to having a big increase in your capital gain but a negative in regard to having to compete against foreign investors if you are a farmer wanting to obtain more land," he said.

Wantabadgery farmer Tony Clough said he generally opposed foreign sales as they led to larger farms and fewer families in rural areas.

"I worry about the lack of people on the ground as these multinationals rely on contractors," he said.

The federal government changed the Foreign Investment Review Board's investigation threshold to prevent damaging overseas takeovers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Clough said is was "pretty substantial" that up to 10 per cent of agricultural land in the Riverina was foreign owned, which created larger farms with temporary workers.

"We are losing a lot of the families out of the districts now, and that's a bit scary. We're losing Rural Fire Service volunteers, for example," he said.

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Mr Egan, who said foreign investors can help improve farmers' incomes, also backed more reviews.

"Every acquisition by a foreign entity in this country should go over the desk of the FIRB, no matter what value it is, as there are plenty of ways around the review threshold," he said.

Labor Senator Deborah O'Neill, who is part of the committee investigating foreign ownership, said it was "absolutely clear that FIRB is not performing at a level to protect the people of the Riverina".

"Right now, with the lowered threshold, any potential sales to foreign entities in the Riverina are caught up in the FIRB," she said.

"They now have 12 people to oversee and enforce compliance. Given the hundreds of new inquires, I have to say I have no confidence that they have the resources or capacity to do the job."

Riverina MP Michael McCormack defended the government's handling of foreign investment, and said it was ensuring "appropriate oversight during these challenging times" including of "any foreign investment in the Riverina".

"The government will continue to prioritise urgent applications for investments which protect and support Australian businesses and Australian jobs," he said.

"We know foreign investment will play an important part as we look to our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The government remains committed to ensuring the FIRB has the resources it needs to operate effectively".