USDA Ends Funding for Solar Projects on Prime Farmland

Solar farms have been a big point of discussion here in California, and now there’s some fresh news out of Washington. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA will no longer use taxpayer dollars to support large solar projects on productive farmland.

According to Rollins, subsidized solar farms have been driving up land costs and making farmland less available—something that’s hitting new and beginning farmers especially hard. USDA is also making it clear that panels manufactured by foreign adversaries won’t be allowed in USDA-funded projects.

The department points to nationwide trends showing solar development on farmland has increased nearly 50 percent since 2012. Officials say the new rules are about protecting food security, keeping America’s best farmland in production, and ensuring taxpayer dollars support American-made products. For California farmers and ranchers keeping an eye on the solar conversation, it’s a significant policy shift.

According to Rollins, “It has been disheartening to see our beautiful farmland displaced by solar projects, especially in rural areas that have strong agricultural heritage.”